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Workers' Education 



REVISED EDITION 



American Experiments 

(WITH A FEW FOREIGN EXAMPLES) 




By 

ARTHUR GLEASON 

of the 

Bureau of Industrial Research 

289 Fourth Avenue 
New York 



Fifty Cents a Copy 

»15 



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Copyright, Yill, by 

The Bureau of Industrial Research 

289 Fourth Avenue 

Neiv York 



©CLAS22014 






Workers' Education 



REVISED EDITION 



American Experiments 

(WITH A FEW FOREIGN EXAMPLES) 

(June 2^th, 1 921) 




By 

ARTHUR GLEASON 

of the 

Bureau of Industrial Research 

289 Fourth Avenue 
New York 



Fifty Cents a Copy 



SCHOOLS ON A SPECIAL BASIS 

Page 

The Rand School 51-53 

Duluth Work People's College 53-54 

Detroit W. E. A 54 

Chicago Workers' Institute 54 

Brookwood 55-57 

Bryn Mawr Summer School 58-59 

Porto Rico 59 

Summary 60 

Workers' Education Bureau of America 61-63 

Suggestions on Classes 64-67 

Chapter III 

A FEW FOREIGN EXPERIMENTS 

Workers' Education in Britain 68-69 

W. E. A 69-73 

Ruskin College 73-74 

Labor College 74-75 

Belgian Workers' Education 76 

APPENDIX 

What To Read 77-81 

Directory — Great Britain 79 

Directory — United States 81-83 

Reading List 84-85 

Lesson Outline . 86 



SP; 



Chapter I 

WORKERS' EDUCATION 

• HE way a group of grown persons best educate each other 
lis in the method used by Socrates and his friends. It is 
the way of endless discussion centering on one subject. It 
is almost the hardest work in the world. The results are some- 
times amazing. A grown man discovers he is beginning to grow 
again. Endless discussion about one subject can not maintain itself 
on words. It dies away unless it feeds on knowledge and finally 
interpretation. It reaches out for facts and then for the meaning 
of them. In modern terms, this Socratic method means a class of 
from five to twenty-five, who read books, listen to talks, and ask ques- 
tions. They take to themselves a like-minded teacher, who is a 
good fellow, and together they work regularly and hard. This is the 
heart of workers' education — the class financed on trade union 
money, the teacher a comrade, the method discussion, the subject the 
social sciences, the aim an understanding of life and the remoulding 
of the scheme of things. Where that dream of a better world is 
absent, adult workers' education will fade away in the loneliness and 
rigor of the effort. 

But there is no one road to freedom. There are roads to free- 
dom. So workers' education will include elementary classes in Eng- 
lish, and entertainment for the crowd. But the road for the leaders 
of the people will be straight and hard. Only a few thousand out 
of the millions will take it. It is a different, a new way of life to which 
the worker is being called. 

Definition. 

Workers' (or labor) Education (except for the resident college) 
falls inside the classification of Adult Education. But it is its own 
kind of adult education, and is not to be confused with university 
extension, evening high schools, night schools, public lectures and 
forums, Chautauquas, "Americanization," education by employers, 

[5] 



and Y. M. C. A. industrial courses. Labor education is inside the 
labor movement, and can not be imposed from above or from with- 
out. It is a training in the science of reconstruction. It is a means 
to the liberation of the working class, individually and collectively. 
In pursuing that aim, it uses all aids that will enrich the life of the 
group and of the worker in the group, and that will win allegiance 
of the worker to the group. The aim then is clear-cut, but the 
content and the methods are catholic. Workers' education is scientific 
and cultural, propagandist and civic, industrial and social. It con- 
cerns itself with the individual and his needs, the citizen and his 
duties, the trade unionist and his functions, the group and its prob- 
lems, the industry and its conditions. 

The best recent summary of workers' education is that of Dr. 
Harry Laidler: — 

If the object of a workers' educational experiment were to give the 
worker greater power of enjoyment here and now; or to develop his 
ability to think fundamentally on social problems; or to help him to 
function more effectively as a citizen in the solution of social problems; 
or to equip him to fight effectively for immediate improvement in the 
conditions of labor; to train him as a leader in the trade union move- 
ment; to interpret to him his place in the scheme of things; to give 
impetus to his demand for a new order of society; to develop his sense 
of loyalty to his economic organization — if the aim were any one of 
these things — I believe that that aim would be a legitimate aim of 
workers' education. 

Education, says Graham Wallas, is "a process by which human 
beings so acquire the knowledge and habits which constitute civiliza- 
tion as to be fitted to live well both individually and in cooperation." 
That which distinguishes labor education in this process are the 
experiences of the workers and the conditions of industry. 

"Control." 

Workers' education as it develops will be financed on workers' 
money, controlled (in the sense of policy) and managed (in the 
sense of administration), by workers' organizations. It is idle to 
debate whether workers' education can be controlled by others tjian 
the workers. It can not be. Controlled by "public" authorities, by 
universities, by middle-class persons, it is aduh education. It is 
education. It is useful. But it is not workers' education. Workers' 

[6] 



education can no more be outside the labor movement than a trade 
union. It is as definite an expression of the labor movement as the 
trade union. When the union is guided by outside benefactors it 
becomes a "company" union, a welfare club. When education of the 
v^rorkers is controlled by other organizations than the organization of 
the workers, it remains inside the category of adult education, but it 
passes out of that special kind of adult education which is workers' 
education. 

Varieties. 

In the United States there may be one kind of education for a 
particular racial group. There will be regional solutions, local ex- 
periments, experiments in a given industry. Our infinite variety 
of life and our wide spaces will demand a multitude of experiments. 

The peasant and cooperative background of Denmark results in a 
workers' education of the folk high schools, which is possible perhaps 
for certain Middle Western groups in our country, but which is not 
universally possible. 

The healthy and balanced growth of the three-fold labor move- 
ment of Belgium — the trade unions, the labor party, the cooperatives 
— and the compactness of the Kingdom enable the workers to make 
a neater classification of needs and to federate the solutions into a 
single central national administrative body, which would break down 
among our mountains or seep away upon the prairies. 

The salty individualism of the British, with their fundamental 
unity of consciousness, permits them to make untidy unrelated ex- 
periments in workers' education, all moving in the one direction, 
although unaware of its goal. A loose but deeply grounded scholar- 
ship of the young university men finds ready alliance with the in- 
stinctive drive of the workers toward a fuller life. 

No such casual unprogrammed adventure into the universe is 
possible with our practical pragmatic American business unions. We 
shall demand clear statements of where we are going. There will be 
dozens of experiments, but each will keep a ledger of exact results. 

Already the American experiments have been of many kinds. 
They have been state-aided, university-aided, independent of state 
and university. 

[7] 



There has been education for labor given by wealthy benevolent 
trustees, as in the Cooper Union. There has been the Rand School 
on a party basis. There have been schools organized on the basis 
of the consumers, as the schools of the cooperatives. 

There have been schools for the groups of producers : a single 
union, like the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union; 
groups of unions as the United Labor Education Committee; the 
Central Labor Body of a city, as the Trade Union College of Boston; 
the State Federation of Labor, as in Pennsylvania. 

Next Steps. 

Much of the early work of American labor education will concern 
itself with elementary and secondary courses in such subjects as 
English writing and speaking. Because of the racial and immigration 
problems, there is no general level of adult attainment. Labor groups 
differ in ability to read and write, and to read, write and speak Eng- 
lish. Until this deficiency is met, there can be but little useful work 
done in such courses as history and economics. As long as immigra- 
tion brings a new group each year, classes in English, elementary 
mathematics and so on, will be necessary. These classes absorb a 
large proportion of the energy of American workers' education. 
Already many of these adult elementary classes are taught in public 
buildings by public school teachers. It is probable that this sort of 
education will be increasingly taken over by public authorities. This 
will leave the business of workers' education to the workers. The 
objects, methods and materials of what is meant by workers' educa- 
tion will be outlined in the next pages. 

Workers' education, as it spreads, is of course vitally concerned 
with facts in the social sciences. It is concerned with the collection, 
classification and interpretation of these facts. This means that 
labor education requires labor research. One of the continuous and 
all-powerful influences in workers' education is the newspaper. Labor 
education requires the labor paper. So as fast as labor education 
grows, there will spring up, out of the same root, labor research and 
the labor newspaper. Research is one of the sources of supply for 
education. The daily, weekly and monthly paper is one oi the meth- 
ods of imparting education to the workers. The labor movement 

[8] 



will remain inside the squirrel-cage of wages and prices, until it 
employs all three — research, education, and the newspaper. 

Charles Beard once said : 

"The modern university does not have for its major interest and 
prime concern the free, open and unafraid consideration of modern 
issues." 

The labor group is beginning to demand a free, open and unafraid 
consideration of modern issues in institutions of its own. 

Object. Group I. 

What is the object of workers' education? One object is to train 
promising youths, who are already officials, or are potential leaders, 
or are the most ambitious of the rank and file. Workers' education 
will train them in the technique of their particular union and in- 
dustry. It will train them in the relation of that union and industry 
to society and the state. This kind of workers' education gives the 
technique of leadership. It includes courses in labor law, the use of 
the injunction, workmen's compensation, industrial and health in- 
surance, unemployment, Federal agencies of inspection, employers' use 
of a secret service, duties of the walking delegate. Perhaps eventually 
place can be found in the curriculum for a course or courses dealing 
with aspects of the problem of management and production. Al- 
though it is inevitable that present interest in these questions should 
be slight, it seems equally inevitable that the leaders among the 
workers must more and more equip themselves with knowledge of 
the technique of their industry on both its administrative and its 
operative side. And this can be directly encouraged if an expository 
and critical course on managerial procedure is offered. The content of 
a course on modern personnel administration would, for example, 
come to have a wide appeal and a great practical value. As the 
subject of "workers' control" demands a knowledge of the functions 
of foreman, superintendent and technician, and a knowledge of the 
whole administrative area, it will become increasingly necessary for 
the advanced labor leader to study the shifting "frontier of control." 
Once the institution is under way, there will be no difficulty in select- 
ing students for this first group. Only those will be admitted who 
have gone through certain courses. At first, the leader will have to 

[9] 



select by guess work. He will use his judgment, admitting those 
"who are sufficiently interested and willing to try." They will drop 
out quickly, under the more intensive and stiff regime, if their 
equipment is faulty, and their devotion languid. 

Object. Group II. 

A second object of workers' education is to give the more eager 
of the rank and file a social or civic education. These courses will 
show the workers how they are governed. They will deal with the 
economic system under which they work, and the nature of the world 
in which they find themselves. They will include general cultural 
courses in history, economics and literature. The thing aimed at is a 
world view. The favorite courses remain history, economics, litera- 
ture, because they are an interpretation of man in his world. Once 
the full circle is drawn, then, into a segment is packed the considera- 
tion of a single subject, such as the Greek Commonwealth, or the 
Agrarian Problem of the Sixteenth Century. Education is "the 
effort of the soul to find a true expression or interpretation of 
experience, and to find it, not alone, but with the help of others, 
fellow-students." By showing to a man his place in the long process 
and the scheme of things, education helps him to live the good life. 

The rank and file will not be interested in this kind of labor 
education for many years. The most alert and energetic men and 
women will alone be attracted. Labor education is education of a 
tiny minority, the most promising of the youth. 

Object. Group III. 

A third object of workers' education is to reach the rank and file 
with education for the love of it, with semi-entertainment with a 
cultural slant. Its aim is mass education. 

Method. Groups I and II. 

Methods in workers' education depend on objects. If the object is 
to train leaders and to give the ambitious minority of the rank and 
file an intensive education, then the method will be that of the small 
class and hard work. Education for these groups is for those only 
who feel a desire, and have some sense of the direction they wish to 

[lO] 



travel. The experiment will begin with three or four in the class, and 
with meager funds. If correctly grounded, it will grow slowly. 
Only at the end of some years will the experiment show results large 
enough to attract outside attention and public ceremonies. No short 
cuts and no brass bands will lead to workers' education of this in- 
tensive kind. This education is self-education. It is not by chance 
and happy blunder that workers' education rediscovered the ancient 
and correct method of teaching — the Socratic c|uiz, the question-and- 
answers discussion. The workers recaptured this method through 
necessity. The miner and railwayman, adult and having knowledge 
of life, would not submit to the autocracy of orthodox teachers. A 
"grown man" or woman will not sit silently each week for several 
years while a lecturer or an orator holds the platform. Each one of 
the group insists on contributing. University extension courses, night 
schools, Chautauquas, civic and church forums, mass meetings with 
star speakers, concerts, theatricals, are not the method of labor educa- 
tion of this kind. Labor education is intensive work on one subject 
carried on by a small class (5 to 25). 

Opportunities for actual industrial responsibility are given by the 
duties of shop chairman, shop committee, and by the organization of 
cooperative establishments. This practice is of course an essential of 
education. 

Method. Group III. 

One method of reaching the rank and file, as yet unawakened, is 
by semi-entertainment. Various devices for stirring desire for edu- 
cation will be used. Bribes and lures will be applied. A beautiful 
actress will recite Shakespeare. A full orchestra will find "The Lost 
Chord." Moving pictures, lantern slides, charts, budgets, maps, and 
other graphic representations, will be used. Three-quarters of the 
time will be used in attracting people. The other quarter will contain 
some bit of information. Out of these mass efforts will come in- 
dividuals, asking for help in the rudiments of mathematics, in the 
English language. Classes will be formed to meet the two-fold need 
of those who never had an elementary education, and those who find 
that an elementary education has left them uneducated. Mass educa- 
tion by mass semi-entertainment will contribute to solidarity and 

[11] 



enthusiasm, which may later lead to intensive education by the class- 
and-discussion method for a small minority. 

The question is asked : 

If young people received a full and good elementary and secondary 
education, would there be need of workers' adult education? The 
answer is that the desire for adult education grows keener as the 
elementary education is more widely spread and more thorough. A 
well-instructed group of workers, twenty-five years old, will be eager 
for adult education. An illiterate group, or a group numbed by 
drink, will be hostile to class work. Also, a group of half-educated 
youths, fed on dogmas and preconceived notions and picturesque 
phrases dealing with catastrophic changes and millennial hopes, will 
be superior to education, to careful analysis, to surveys of fact. 

A thoughtful paper on mass education has been written by J. M. 
Budish, of the United Labor Education Committee. He writes that 
the subjects included in the curriculum should be (1) Natural Sci- 
ences, (2) Social Sciences, (3) Cultural Elements. He suggests 
that:— 

The shop meeting reaches more workers than any other union activ- 
ity. About 75% of the members attend. If the technique of the shop and 
the routine shop problems are made an approach to the study of the 
structure of the industry as a whole and then of the inter-relation of 
industries, the shop has become a "project." 

In local union lectures it is possible to reach about 10% of the union 
membership. As in any organization, an active minority of 10% hold 
office, work on committees and attend business meetings. The series 
of lectures must at least at first be closely related to the pressing trade 
union problems of today: the abuse of injunctions, the open shop cam- 
paign, the shop chairman movement. 

The official journals or endorsed papers are a neglected educational 
medium. 

The W. E. B. (Workers' Education Bureau) should create pamphlets 
to serve as a basis for shop and class room use. 

Personal guidance in reading may be given by the more advanced 
students and by a librarian as well as by teachers. The sense which 
fits reading to readers must be enlisted for workers' education. The 
worker must be taught how to handle books, use indexes, select what 
he wants, taught to digest and assimiliate material found in libraries. 
Bring traveling libraries of say 50 selected volumes into the shops, the 
trade union meetings, and the classes. 

[12] 



It has been suggested that workers' education should be made com- 
pulsory for new members, for apprentices, and for officials. At best, 
this could only be done in certain unions. At worst there are possibili- 
ties of abuse. In any case, the suggestion calls for long consideration. 

TEACHERS 

In Britain the success of workers' education was due to men like 
R. H. Tawney, J. J. Mallon, Arthur Greenwood, Alfred Zimmern. 
The type is neither the smart brisk young tutor who patronizes nor 
the bearded professor who is dogmatic. The type is that of humble- 
minded scholarship set in charming democratic personality. Ameri- 
can colleges do not as yet produce this type in numbers. The workers' 
teacher is a rare person. The only method as yet used for finding 
him is to bring normal school and university-trained teachers into 
contact with labor groups, and to winnow out the teacher who catches 
hold. The balanced qualities, which give clear exposition and suffer 
heckling gladly and call out group discussion, can only be revealed 
in practice. No technique of normal school training alone will pro- 
duce the man who can interpret experience to a labor group, although 
something can be done through normal classes to show the prospective 
teacher how material may be simply prepared, and presented in the 
method of group discussion. The suggestion has been made that a 
local association of teachers could call a conference of themselves and 
local trade union leaders on workers' education. If both elements 
cooperated, classes would be an immediate result. One American 
teachers' union numbering 1 ,000 was called on for teachers for work- 
ers' education. Two persons were available. But two are a begin- 
ning in a new work. 

One experiment in workers' education has found that teachers 
in secondary schools were more successful than university professors. 
In this experiment, the language used was simpler, the understanding 
of the group mind was more complete. 

Increasingly, teachers will come out of the ranks of the workers. 
Even the best of the university men retain a methodology and a 
mental habit of their group, and insensibly swing workers' education 
to their ideas of what it ought to be. It is not the function of the 
educator to lead labor along the lines of his preconceived judgment 

[^3] 



of the proper destiny of labor. Rather, it is his job to walk humbly 
into that new world of experience, conditions and ideas, to be more 
concerned with discovery than exhortation, more concerned with the 
definition and interpretation of labor to itself than with the super- 
imposition of his learning or his policy. The teacher is the psycho- 
analyst, revealing by discussion what the workers want. 

The teacher will be forced to use a new way of teaching. If he 
does not, his class will die on his hands. The old text-books are no 
good for his group. The class-room method will not "work." The 
subject material (of abstract economics, for instance) will not hold 
attention. 

The teacher will avoid mass meetings, advertising what he is 
going to do. The little class seems lonesome after a mass meeting. 
He will make his appeal by pamphlets, bulletins, syllabi of courses. 
He will speak to every sort of workers' meeting. He will speak to 
trade unions' locals, district conferences, state federation conferences. 
He will begin his experiment small in one place. If successful, it 
will do much of its own advertising and publicity work. Its students 
and graduates become the promoters of workers' education. A regu- 
lar bulletin or leaflet or magazine organ will gradually become neces- 
sary. 

The lesson will be slowly learned that working class education 
costs in money and time ; especially, that it must pay its way in point 
of adequate compensation for teachers. It is idle to hope that a per- 
manent teaching staff of the right calibre can be built on the tag ends 
of busy people's time, for which a nominal fee is paid. This kind 
of educational work requires special ability, extended preparation 
and follow-up. On the other hand, successful experiments in labor 
education have been made by the equal and enthusiastic early sacri- 
fices of both workers and teachers. Only gradually have the experi- 
ments been able to take over the full time or even a remunerative 
half-time of the teacher. All such effort in beginning is dependent 
on a fund of patient idealism. As the need and the appeal become 
clearer it is probable that a group of teachers will respond in this 
country as they have elsewhere. 

What is immediately needed is the asking and answering of some 
simple questions in methods of class procedure. There should be an 

[H] 



exchange of experiences by teachers of labor. What presentation 
interested the class ? Can the social sciences be presented visually and 
pictorially as the physical sciences are? How can graphs, charts, 
slides, photographs, maps, be used ? Is the discussion a question and 
answer from the beginning? Or does the teacher lead ofif for a half 
hour ? Does the teacher use his high-school technique ? Or is there a 
new and different technique for labor education? How can sound 
fact-foundations be laid in minds, untrained, or weary, or indifferent, 
or dreaming of world-revolution? 

TEXT-BOOKS 

It is not by chance that workers' education altered the subject- 
matter, the content, of the teaching. Fresh from first-hand experience 
of danger, monotony, and the workings of the industrial system, labor 
rejects the abstractions of academic political economy, and the purple 
chronicle of kings in history. They want to know the adventure of 
the common man down the ages. This means re-writing the text- 
books. The workers are forcing the experts to rewrite them. The 
secretary of the British Labor College writes us (in November of 
1920) : 

"Those experts. We've been battling with them for three months 
now, trying to bully or cajole them into Simplicity of Language, Aboli- 
tion of Technical Treatment, Definiteness in the Statement of Estab- 
lished Results of their Sciences, Conciseness. We want a book on their 
subjects of 150 to 200 pages. They want to supply a self-contained 
library, mainly technical, with ill-defined co-ordination of results, and 
precious little relation to a continuous unfolding of natural social 
phenomena." 

Text-books are needed in all subjects — in technique of leadership, 
civic culture, in American industrial history, in trade union and 
labor history, in political history, in economic geography, and so on. 
Text-books for American workers' education have not been written. 
Sound scholarship, simple statement, clear English, cheap price, are 
the requirements. The probable line of procedure here is that after 
discussion the teacher will draw up an outline of his course. This 
outline will grow into leaflets ; the leaflets into pamphlets ; the pamph- 
lets into a text-book. The text-book, then, will be written by a 
teacher of workers' classes, and will be an answer to the needs of 
the group. 

[15] 



The pamphlet will be a valuable instrument in workers' education, 
as in other enterprises of social change. The pamphlet is read where 
the book is neglected. The pamphlet is remembered and kept, where 
the newspaper is thrown away and forgotten. Pamphleteering has 
been an unknown art until Upton Sinclair, Scott Nearing, Paul 
Blanshard and a few others began to discover its carrying power. 
Pamphlets are immediately needed for workers' educational groups 
on such subjects as "Unemployment," "Labor Education and What 
It Could Mean," "What Is a Trade Union College ?" "How to Start 
a Trade Union College," and on 50 other subjects. 

At the end of this pamphlet will be found a list of books and 
pamphlets which have proved useful in workers' classes. 

What seems agreed on as texts immediately needed are a dynamic 
history of the American trade union movement; an American in- 
dustrial history; a syllabus on industrial history; a syllabus on the 
American labor movement; a text on workers' education, which will 
contain the experience of teachers in presentation of material, and the 
whole technique of teaching workers' groups. 

One of the teachers in the Pennsylvania workers' classes, C. J. 
Hendley, writes us : — 

My notion of a labor class text-book is that it should be a pocket size 
volume, containing- about twelve lessons of, say, twenty pages each; that 
it should be written in a style that would lure the student to further 
reading; that it should contain detailed references and directions for 
more thorough study; and that it should be developed inductively from 
familiar facts and concrete data to general principles. Simplicity and 
clearness would be of paramount importance in such literature. It 
should be written with the unsophisticated and uneducated working- 
man kept in mind. I think our texts should treat ostensibly the common- 
place problems that the average serious-minded workman faces in his 
every-day work, but in reality introducing him to great principles and 
ideals of social and economic progress, — not mere propaganda for any 
particular doctrine, but an appeal to what is sanest and noblest in the 
human mind. 

The Ladies' Garment Workers report on this need : — 

The International was confronted with the problem of text-books, 
because most of the available text-books are written either for college or 
high school students or for children in the elementary schools. To 
solve this problem it was decided to have the teachers prepare pamph- 
lets on the subject-matter of their courses. These are published by the 

[i6] 



Educational Department and sold to members at a minimum cost. These 
pamphlets will be used as text-books by the classes, since teachers who 
have had experience with workers' classes are best fitted to write text- 
books for them. 

A first need of many experiments in workers' education is that of 
an outline of present-day civilization. The student wishes to know 
about the world and his own place in it. He wishes to know nature 
and human nature, — about climate and the location of food, coal, 
iron ore, oil, rubber, copper; and how these physical features and 
natural resources react on man with his bundle of instincts. The 
student wishes to know what are the problems of today, and what in- 
tellectual tools exist for grappling with them. 

A brave attempt to make this outline of present-day civilization has 
been published by a group of Columbia instructors. It is called 
"Introduction to Contemporary Civilization — A Syllabus" (Columbia 
University). It is faulty in such omissions as a proper consideration 
of workers' education. The suggested, reading is not generally 
adapted to workers' groups (of course it does not pretend to be). 
But the Syllabus affords a working answer to the need of many 
group leaders in labor education. 



[17] 



Chapter II 
AMERICAN EXPERIMENTS 

National Women's Trade Union League. 

A Training School for Women Labor Leaders was established 
by the National Women's Trade Union League as early as 
1913, under the leadership of Mrs. Raymond Robins. This was the 
first labor school to give a full year's training and field work to its 
students. The school is supported out of the general funds of the 
organization with occasional scholarships contributed. The Educa- 
tional Department of the National Women's Trade Union League en- 
deavors to provide training and an opportunity to study to the girl 
who wants to become an organizer or active worker in the labor 
movement. Scholarships are open to the trade union woman who 
has had some actual experience in the management of her own union 
or has helped to organize the workers in her own trade. The girls 
who attend the training school are generally recruited from two 
groups — first, those who have shown ability as organizers are chosen 
by their own organization and are sent to the School on a scholarship 
and they return to work with the union after completion of the 
course. The second group is made up of girls who while at work 
have awakened to a sense of their own capacity for leadership, and 
who write the school asking for a scholarship to enable them to take 
the training and gain the practical experience that they need. 

The regular term of training is twelve months. A four-months' 
course is arranged for trained organizers who, while they do not 
need the field work, which is organizing practice, are interested in 
the academic studies. An allowance of $18 a week is made each 
student to cover her living expenses while in the school. The student 
is supposed to arrive in good physical condition. The student's rail- 
road fare is paid from her home to the National Office in Chicago, 
where the year's training is given, and her return is arranged for. 

The academic work includes the following courses : Industrial His- 
tory, with the rise of labor organizations — trade unions, Judicial 
Decisions Affecting Labor, Trade Agreements in Theory and Prac- 

[i8] 



tice, History of Women in Industry and the Organization Movement 
Among Women, Current Events, Social Economics, Public Speak- 
ing, English, Bookkeeping, Typing, Filing and Office Practice, and 
Parliamentary Law. 

Most of the classes in labor history and public speaking are con- 
ducted in cooperation with the University of Chicago. Special 
courses are arranged so that the students may hear the leading trade 
union men and women of the country. 

The time of active practice includes experience in organization 
work of all kinds. Arrangements are made so that students may have 
an opportunity to handle every type of work and every emergency. 
The field work is done under the advice and direction of competent 
leaders. 

Since the establishment of the training school, although the number 
of students who attended the school was not large, most of the 
graduates are now taking a very active and prominent part in the 
different women's trade union organizations. 

The National Women's Trade Union League has also conducted 
classes in conjunction with the Chicago Federation of Labor, and the 
local Women's Trade Union League and with the cooperation of the 
local Board of Education. They conducted three classes last year in 
English, Public Speaking, and Parliamentary Law. The Public 
Speaking class was the most successful one with an average attend- 
ance of twenty students. Several business agents were members of 
the class. Extensive plans for next year's work are now being formu- 
lated. 

Alice Henry has been Secretary of the Educational Department of 
the National Women's Trade Union League of America. 

International Ladies' Garment Workers. 

The International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union as a union 
has been "the pioneer in education in the labor movement of America." 
But there had been many efforts before its experiment. These were 
not of the same character in aims and purposes, but attempted to 
reach the same groups. There were a Workers' School, the 
Workers' Educational League, the Thomas Davidson School, the 

[19] 



Bread Winners' or Wage Earners' College, the Jewish Workers' 
League, the Workmen's Circle. And since 1906 the Rand School of 
Social Science had been preparing the ground in New York. The 
Rand lectures and classes reached many persons in the clothing in- 
dustry. 

The idea underlying the educational work of the International is 
expressed in the following statement which appears in the announce- 
ment of courses given by the Educational Department: 

The work of the Educational Department of the I. L. G. W. U. is 
based on a conviction that the aims and aspirations of the workers can 
be realized only through their own efforts in the economic and educa- 
tional fields. While organization gives them power, education gives 
them the ability to use that power intelligently and effectively. 

The courses offered by the Educational Department are planned to 
accomplish this aim. While some of them are intended to satisfy the 
intellectual and the emotional needs of workers, the main emphasis is 
laid on those which meet their practical needs. The problems of the 
labor movement are analyzed and clarified by the study of general 
principles underlying them. In this way is it possible to train fresh 
energy, new experiences and power for the service of the International 
and of the entire Labor Movement of America, and to help our members 
to achieve their purposes with the ultimate goal of living a full, rich 
and happy life. 

A start was made when the 1914 Cleveland Convention of the 
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union appropriated $1,500 
for educational activities. The International cooperated with the 
Rand School of Social Science, where special classes were organized 
for members. In 1915, the Waist and Dressmakers' Union, Local 
25 (a local of the International), of New York City, organized its 
own educational activities and concentrated them in a public school 
building under the name of Unity Center. The work was started in 
cooperation with the New York Board of Education. The under- 
standing was that the Board of Education was to assign teachers of 
English for special classes organized for Garment Workers members 
only. In addition to that, courses were arranged on different subjects. 
Teachers were paid by the Union. 

At the Philadelphia Convention of 1916 the question of labor edu- 
cation was more seriously taken up, and it was decided that the In- 
ternational appoint a committee of five, and that a fund of $5,000 be 

[20] 



placed at the disposal of this committee, to be spent for educa- 
tional activities. The committee accepted the plan of the Waist 
Makers and opened a few Unity Centers, thus laying a foundation for 
the Workers' University, which was opened in the Washington 
Irving High School in New York. The work was directed by the 
committee with Vice-President Fannia M. Cohn as Secretary, and 
with Miss Juliet Stuart Poyntz as Educational Director. To the 
Boston Convention in 1918, the Educational Committee presented a 
report of its accomplishments, which was heartily endorsed by the 
delegates assembled. The General Executive Board of the Inter- 
national Ladies' Garment Workers' Union was instructed to spend 
$10,000 yearly to carry on the work of education. 

At present, the International conducts three distinct lines of educa- 
tional work : the Unity Centers, the Workers' University and the 
Extension Work. The business agents, other officers, and mem- 
bers of the rank and file of the local unions attend classes. The 
Chicago Convention of 1920 appropriated $15,000 for these educa- 
tional activities. But actually a larger sum is expended. 

Unity Centers 

An important branch of educational activities is the Unity Center. 
At present there are seven Unity Centers in Public School Buildings 
in the different parts of New York where members reside. Since 
most of the members of the I. L. G. W. U. are of foreign birth and 
come from non-English-speaking countries, the study of English is 
an essential subject in their curriculum. Therefore, in each Unity 
Center there are classes in English, of elementary, intermediate, ad- 
vanced and high school grade. The teachers are assigned by the 
Evening School Department of the Board of Education. In each 
Unity Center there is a supervisor assigned by the Department 
of Community and Recreation Centers of the Board of Education. 
These local supervisors give weekly physical training lessons. The 
International arranges independently courses on the Labor Movement, 
Trade Unionism, and Economics. The rest of the curriculum deals 
with Health, or subjects of more cultural interest, such as Literature, 
Music, Art, Educational Films, and talks on vital subjects. To 
make the lessons more profitable, the teachers prepare outlines of each 
lesson ; these contain the topics to be discussed and questions designed 

[21] 



to stimulate further thought. The outHnes are distributed among 
the students, who preserve them. They serve to recall to the students 
the subject-matter discussed in the class. They are also sent to 
Local Unions outside of New York, with the hope that these will 
arrange similar courses. In New York the Unity Centers have about 
2,000 pupils. These Centers are a method of getting large groups of 
workers to receive instruction in subjects of importance. 

Workers' University 

The Workers' University consists of a number of classes conducted 
in the Washington Irving High School on Saturday afternoons and 
Sunday mornings. These classes attract members of the International 
who have already had some instruction in the social sciences. The 
courses are of a more advanced character and the teachers are gen- 
erally specialists in their field. The main emphasis is placed on social 
sciences. As in the Unity Centers, the students receive an outline of 
each lesson. These outlines constitute a syllabus of the course and 
are preserved by the students for further reference and study. 

The field of instruction covers courses in Trade Union Policy, 
Current Economic Literature, Current Economic Opinion, Current 
Labor and Economic Problems, The Cooperative Movement, Econ- 
omic Geography, Applied Psychology and Logic, Sociology, History 
of Civilization, Modern Literature and PubHc Speaking. Discussions 
by specialists are arranged for the classes on Current Labor Problems, 
such as on the Steel Industry and the Steel Strike, the Coal Mining 
Situation, the British Labor Situation Today, the Shop Steward 
Movement, the Plumb Plan, etc. In the classes in Trade Unionism 
special reference is made to the problems of the International Ladies' 
Garment Workers' Union. 

As in the Unity Centers, there is no cost to members of the Inter- 
national, and menders of other unions are admitted free after 
arrangement with the Union. Practically all students who register 
complete the work. 

Extension Division 

The Extension Division provides education for large numbers of 
the membership. It organizes not only special classes to which all 
members are invited, but also concerts and other entertainments. 

[22] 



w 



These are very popular with the membership. For their convenience 
many of the lectures are given at the business meetings of the various 
locals of the organization. The subjects are such as the Problems of 
the Modern Trade Union with special reference to their own Inter- 
national, New Tendencies in the Organized Labor Movement in the 
U. S., Trade Unionism and Collective Bargaining, the Industrial and 
Political Struggles of Organized Labor, the Place of Organized 
Workers in Modern Society, the Cooperative Movement and Trade 
Unionism, etc. 

Lectures on Health are given by physicians, with particular atten- 
tion to problems of home and shop hygiene. 

During strikes, lectures are given to groups of organized and un- 
organized workers. 

The activities of the Extension Division are growing. The Inter- 
national hopes to provide educational activities for every group of 
its large membership. 

In connection with all the courses, books are recommended for 
reading and study and are obtained for the workers by the Educa- 
tional Department at reduced prices. 

Branches of the Workers' University were established in Cleveland 
and Philadelphia. By special arrangement, members of the Inter- 
national attend classes in the Trade Union College of Boston. The 
Union pays their fees. 

Conscious of the fact that the social factor plays an important part 
in creating solidarity, the Educational Department organizes con- 
certs, entertainments, visits to museums, hikes, social gatherings, etc., 
for the students. These are attended largely and serve to bring to- 
gether for social as well as educational purposes many members of 
the International. The International does not attempt directly to 
satisfy the desire for music and drama on the part of its members. 
But it realizes that such a desire is very important and must be grati- 
fied, if the life of workers is to be full and rich. Arrangements are 
therefore made with the National Symphony Orchestra, the Theatre 
Guild, the Jewish Art Theatre and other similar musical and dramatic 
organizations for reduced price tickets for the members of the Inter- 
national. 

[23] 



Other Features 

The educational work is conducted by the Department after numer- 
ous consultations, meetings and conferences with educational commit- 
tees of local unions, students' councils and the faculty. In this way, 
the work is conducted democratically, and what is most important, is 
vitalized by being continually adjusted to meet the real demands of 
the rank and file of the membership. 

One of the results of the educational activities was a movement 
among the members to beautify their homes. This movement cul- 
minated in the establishment of Summer Unity Homes. 

The first is one of the achievements of the 30,000 members of the 
Waist and Dressmakers' Union of New York, and was purchased 
by the union at the cost of about $100,000. It is located in Pennsyl- 
vania and was known formerly as the Forest Park House, a summer 
resort for wealthy people. The Unity Village contains a main build- 
ing, and twelve adjoining cottages, surrounded by gardens and for- 
ests, and equipped with all the conveniences that one could desire. 
Last summer 500' of the workers came out weekly. 

The Philadelphia Waistmakers, an organization of 5,000 young 
women, purchased their Unity House and spent about $50,000 upon 
it so far. In addition, the Philadelphia Waist and Dressmakers' 
Union has its own lunchroom, located in a building in the heart of 
the business section of the city. There members are served whole- 
some food at the lowest possible price. Like many other local garment 
unions, it has a good library, containing almost 3,000 books. 

The latest Unity Home was opened on June 4, 1921, at Midland 
Beach, Staten Island, by the Italian Waist and Dressmakers' Union 
of New York. 

The movement among local unions for establishing country Unity 
Homes is of practical value. In the first place, it combines the 
methods of the Cooperative Movement with those of Trade Unions. 
It shows what can be accomplished in the cooperative field, if the 
effort is coordinated with the interests of trade unions. Furthermore, 
it gives an opportunity to energetic members to receive a practical 
education in building and supervising enterprises. Every Unity Home 
is under the general supervision of a sub-committee of the Executive 
Board. 

[24] 



The work of this union in education has proved to be so sound that 
the views of the Secretary of the Educational Department, Miss 
Fannia M. Cohn, are worth recording: 

The necessity for creating the proper atmosphere in the classrooms 
should be emphasized. The upper and middle classes appreciate this 
fact and are as much concerned with the social life of their students as 
with the academic subjects. We, too, should be concerned with it if 
we want to attract the younger element. 

Once for all, we should agree that workers' education must be 
financed by workers themselves, either through their local or inter- 
national unions, by their central labor bodies, or partly through tuition 
fees. But in the main, workers' education must be financed by workers. 

It must be managed and directed by the workers. Please do not mis- 
understand me. In no way do we exclude teachers and intellectuals who 
are coming over to our side. We welcome them to our ranks. But in order 
that the workers' psychology and point of view be emphasized every- 
where, that the interests of the Labor Movement be held before us con- 
stantly, the work must be managed by those in the movement who are 
qualified to do so. 

This means that in addition to expert teachers, active union workers 
who are fitted for the task, will direct the work. This dual management 
is very vital to the work of Workers' Education. For this work re- 
quires not merely a knowledge of education, but also a first-hand knowl- 
edge of labor and its problems, and particularly a knowledge of the 
psychology of the workers among whom the work is to be done. Such 
management can be coordinated with tiie needs of the Labor Movement. 

It is important that the teacher, no matter how qualified he is to 
teach workers, should not be left alone to the students. The persons 
in charge should always try to interpret to the teachers the psychology, 
aims and aspirations of the pupils, — to acquaint them with the surround- 
ings, with the conditions under which the students live and woik, what 
books they read, where they derive their inspirations and, on the other 
hand, to keep in touch with the students to help them understand what 
the teacher has not made clear. 

Academic qualifications are not the only essentials which the teacher 
must have in order to be successful in Trade Union classes. The teach- 
ers must be acquainted with the aims of the Labor Movement, with the 
daily problems which it is called upon to solve. He must understand 
that the Movement does not deal with theories only, but mainly with 
facts and conditions. This again requires the assistance of a practical 
and intelligent trade unionist who knows the movement thoroughly. 

We realize that no plan for organizing educational activities can be 
successful unless it is expressed in something more than the establish- 

[25] 



i^i>l»TOaw»lBjWHW?»w» w vwgi ^ 



ment of institutions like the Unity Centers and Workers' University. 
The plan must produce a mental attitude, which in turn would create 
a movement for workers' education within the trade union movement. 
The question has come up in our work how to accomplish this. We 
resolved that the only way to make a success of our activities is by 
directing all our energies and attention to the rank and file. We believe 
that if they will be impressed with the necessity for workers' education, 
and if they will become imbued with the ideal and conviction that 
"Knowledge is power," and that with the "Accumulation of knowledge 
the world is theirs," then, and only then, will we be on the road to 
success. 

One page of our weekly papers, published in English, Yiddish and 
Italian, is devoted to the work of our Educational Department. These 
papers are sent to the home of every worker. Notices of our activities 
also appear in the daily English, Yiddish and Italian press which is read 
by our members. 

We find that we reach our membership most effectively by coming 
into personal touch with them. We try to stimulate in them a desire 
for education and then we try to satisfy that desire. We speak at shop 
meetings, which are held almost every night, describing our plan of 
education. We address business meetings of the unions. We arrange 
gatherings from time to time, at which assemble large numbers of mem- 
bers, whom we try to interest in our work. Leaflets and other literature 
are mailed to their homes. 

The student body in a workers' college must understand that the benefit 
derived from the time and effort spent in education, will depend not so 
much on the knowledge received in the classroom as upon practical 
familiarity with the labor movement and upon the experience derived 
from active participation in the life of their organization. 

Those in charge of labor colleges must realize that the hope of the 
labor movement lies in the increasing intelligence of the rank and file. 
Education and information must be the cornerstone of the society of the 
future. It is the intelligent citizenship in the unions — the rank and file — 
that will bring about an intelligent leadership. Hence, it must be under- 
stood that a workers' college must organize activities for every group 
— for those who know very little as well as those who are advanced — 
for those who are the present leaders or will be the future leaders of 
the organization. 

The work of the Educational Department is directed by Fannia M. 
Cohn, secretary, and Alexander Fichandler, educational director. 

Local 25 

The Ladies' Waist and Dressmakers' Union, Local 25, of the 
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, has its own Depart- 

[26J 



ment of Education and Organization, which cooperates with the 
International. It was this local under Juliet Stuart Poyntz which 
initiated the "Unity Center" plan of labor education. Local 25 has 
its own educational director, Elsie Gliick. Miss Gliick keeps the local 
in close touch with the educational program of the International. The 
local's Educational Department carries intensive advocacy of educa- 
tion into the shops and district meetings. The educational office is 
located in local headquarters, so that, as members pay their dues, they 
can be approached on the educational program. 

Local entertainment work includes monthly concerts and entertain- 
ments ; unemployment entertainments ; and strike concerts and classes. 

The Unity House of Local 25 has been described above. 

The members have a library, containing several thousand books. 

The local educational work has always been closely bound up with 
the organization work of the Union. 

United Labor Education Committee. 

The initiators of the United Labor Education Committee in 
1918 were the United Cloth Hat and Cap Makers, at whose call all 
the conferences preliminary to the establishment of the Committee 
were held. Among the organizations affiliated at the beginning were 
the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America. They have recently 
separated from the Committee in order to establish their own educa- 
tional department. 

Although the impulse for the Education Committee came from the 
needle trades unions, the educational work soon spread to other 
unions. At the present writing, thirty labor organizations are affiliated 
with the United Labor Education Committee. These include such 
organizations as the Central Trades and Labor Council of Greater 
New York and Vicinity, the Women's Trade Union League, the In- 
ternational Fur Workers' Union, the Workmen's Circle, the Teachers' 
Union and the United Hebrew Trades. Two locals of the Interna- 
tional Ladies' Garment Workers' Union are cooperating with the U. 
L. E. C. Other unions affiliated include workers engaged in the metal 
trades, food industries, clerical and amusement trades. 

The U. L. E. C, perhaps more than any other labor educational 
enterprise, has emphasized mass education. Among the activities the 

[27] 



l i iiiti i ii i ii i f i h i W' ii fi ii « iAa i(tt iiii>«M i ii^^ 



\<f'-'.\~j-)<::i>i-'mifmm^fmmi^ 



U. L, E. C. arranges for its affiliated organizations are included : ( 1 ) 
Lectures at the local union meetings; (2) Classes for the general 
membership, for shop chairmen, active members and officials; (3) 
Strike Service (making use of the leisure of strikers for education 
and recreation); (4) Slack service (for the unemployed during in- 
dustrial depression); (5) Forums; (6) Recreation Centers, Drama, 
Educational Moving Pictures; (7) The Committee helps locals to 
arrange their benefit performances at the lowest cost and in order 
to make them more educational. 

To join the United Labor Education Committee, an organization 
has to pay an affiliation fee of $15.00 and monthly dues as follows: 
Locals with a membership up to 300 pay $5 per month; over 300 and 
not over 1,000, pay $10; over 1,000 pay $10 for the first thousand 
and $5 for every additional thousand or fraction thereof; no local to 
pay more than $40 per month. 

Every local union has equal rights and obligations in the U. L. 
E. C. The Committee accepts no financial contributions from in- 
dividuals nor from any but labor organizations. 

Since the creation of the U. L. E. C. a total of over $30,000 was 
expended on the educational work in New York City. Courses were 
given by the Committee in English, Economics, Industrial History, 
Socialism, Practical Psychology, Reading of Blue Prints, and History 
and Appreciation of Art. One class was organized for trade union 
officials and two courses on "Contemporary Problems" and on "How 
to Teach Economics in Labor Colleges," were conducted for public 
school teachers who had affiliated with the Committee. In addition 
several classes were organized in cooperation with the New School for 
Social Research. Recently attemps have been made to introduce educa- 
tional work at the regular shop meetings of the affiliated unions. The 
most successful classes, both in the sense of regularity in attendance 
and size, were those held in the headquarters of labor organizations. 

Aside from its class work, the U. L. E. C. since its inception has 
arranged 231 lectures and concerts for sixty union locals, reaching 
a membership of about 30,000. These lectures were given in a 
series of three and four, so that the subject is dealt with in a way to 
further substantial knowledge. These union lectures have proved a 
very important phase of the work of the Committee and have been 
very successful. During the time of its existence, the U. L. E. C. also 

[28] 



conducted ninety-seven forums, with an attendance of 18,000 per- 
sons. In addition more than 150 strike and unemployment service 
meetings were held, at which prominent speakers and artists appeared. 
Outside of the activities mentioned above, the Committee also ar- 
ranges hikes to the country, which are devoted to the study of nature. 
Visits to the museums of art and natural history are also arranged 
frequently under the guidance of instructors. 

In the season of 1919-20, the Rand School of Social Science co- 
operated with the United Labor Education Committee, by receiving 
into the Rand School classes at reduced fees several hundred students 
assigned by the Committee. The classes were partly regular classes, 
and partly special classes organized for the purpose. The subjects 
covered were : American History, General Modern History, Civics, 
Elementary Economics, Socialism, Trade Unionism, Elementary 
Natural Science, and various grades of English. 

The Committee has practically divorced their regular activities 
from the public school system, and have concentrated their work in 
the headquarters of the affiliated organizations. This has been done 
partly because of the attitude of the Board of Education. The 
classes are all held in Union Headquarters. The forums are con- 
ducted in the headquarters of the Workmen's Circle and union halls. 
The public schools are still used, however, for special activities, such 
as concerts, dramatic readings, etc. 

The U. L. E. C.'s experience has been that classes reach a very 
small minority. The commercialized "show" and moving picture 
reach a vast majority. The recreational activities of the Committee, 
connected as they are with lectures, are intended to combat the in- 
fluences of commercialized amusement. These recreational activities 
of the Committee are intended, not as mass entertainments, but as 
new methods of mass education. The Committee believes its method 
can be used to make audiences read, register for classes, and take the 
first step in serious educational work. J. M. Budish, one of the early 
pioneers in workers' education and Chairman of the Committee, con- 
tends : 

If the educational movement is to become a mass movement so that 
it may have a real influence in shaping the thought of the working 
masses, the only way by which it can be accomplished is by using some 
new methods of mass education. 

[29] 



At the recent meeting of the Workers' Education Bureau of Amer- 
ica (W. E. B.) Mr. Budish also suggested the creation of a central 
body on labor education for the city of New York to replace the 
United Labor Education Committee and to function locally as the 
W. E. B, hopes to function for a wider area. 

The Cooperatives. 

The Cooperative Movement conducts three New York schools. 
One is in PubHc School No. 63 (150 East 4th St.), one in the State 
Bank Building (5th Ave. and 115th St.), and one at 402 Stone Ave., 
Brownsville. 

Cooperative education is of two kinds. One is education on the 
subject of cooperation. The other is education by the method of con- 
sumers' cooperation. 

The most thorough school for practical training of cooperators is 
that held annually at Superior, Wisconsin. 

A need is for the development of trained leaders among the working 
class for cooperation. One local answer to this need has been the 
eight-weeks-seminar conducted by Dr. J. P. Warbasse for three suc- 
cessive years. It was held in 1918-19 in the Washington Irving High 
School; in 1919-20 in the Sage Foundation Building, of New York, 
under the joint auspices of the International Ladies' Garment Work- 
ers' Union and the School for Social Work. 

In the year of 1920-21 a course of 15 lectures on the history and 
technique of cooperation have been given under the auspices of 
Columbia University. In New York there were given a series of 
six lectures for training workers in the Zionist Movement for co- 
operative enterprises in Palestine. 

Tlie trade union colleges in various parts of the country give courses 
in cooperation. 

"Cooperation," the organ of the Cooperative League of America, 
says : — 

Cooperation means that the consumers organize to control the pro- 
duction and distribution of the education which they want. This can 
be done if the students are adults and capable of knowing what they 
want. Those pioneer student bodies which are working out this method 
are doing the most radical thing that has been done in education since 
the free public school was established. 

[303 



The three cooperative schools of Greater New York (downtown, 
Harlem and Brownsville), publish a monthly paper called "Co- 
operative Education." 

The object of these New York consumers' experiments in educa- 
tion and the subject-matter place them outside the area of workers' 
education, as we have defined it. The object is largely to fit young 
people to pass Regents' and college examinations. The subject- 
matter is therefore largely, though not exclusively, that of regular 
preparatory courses. 

The method of administration is a pure form of workers' educa- 
tion. The cooperative schools are under students' control. They 
charge a tuition fee (for instance, of $5 a month for five nights a 
week of three periods). They use public and high school instructors. 
The students administer all the finances. One of the schools has 
500 pupils, another 300. 

Training Executives 

The Cooperative Central Exchange at Superior, Wisconsin, carries 
on a wholesale business and conducts a school for the education of 
cooperative executives. The Exchange has a membership of 49 dis- 
tributive societies. This was the second year of the training course, 
which was begun with 43 students. Most of the students come from 
Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin. The ages range from 15 to 48. 
Of the students of 1919, 70 per cent are now employed in cooperative 
stores. 

American cooperation has a "literature" which makes the task of 
education easier than in the political and trade union fields. There 
are excellent books on the history, theory and practice of cooperation. 
There are useful pamphlets. This material for cooperative edu- 
cation is to be obtained from the Cooperative League of America 
(2 West 13th Street, New York). There is, for instance, the ten- 
cent pamphlet on "Cooperative Education — The Duties of the Edu- 
cational Committee Defined." This pamphlet is so clear and precise 
that it might serve as a model for publications on labor information. 
Good pamphleteering is one of the immediate needs in workers' edu- 
catioa ' , 

[31] 



Cooperative "Literature" 

"Cooperative societies can not be developed any faster than people 
can be trained to run them," and to support them. This means train- 
ing of managers and executives and training of the whole member- 
ship. Trade unions also can not be developed any faster than people 
can be trained to run them and to take over progressively the functions 
of administration of industry. Education has long been accepted as 
essential to success in cooperation. Education has not been so widely 
accepted by trade unionists as essential to success in industrial 
democracy. 

The Trade Union College of Boston. 

The Trade Union College under the auspices of the Boston Central 
Labor Union was planned immediately after the end of the war in 
1918, was organized in January, 1919, and was opened with a pro- 
gram of fourteen courses on April 7, 1919. It was the first college 
in America to be established by the entire central labor body of any 
city, and this plan inaugurated in Boston has since then been followed 
in various other cities. During the first term, the students numbered 
only 169, but within a year the total enrolment mounted as high as 
450. At first the college was meant primarily for trade unionists 
afiiliated with the American Federation of Labor and members of 
their families, but from the first all other workers who applied were 
admitted with the approval of the Board of Control, and the Boston 
Central Labor Union has now voted to open the college to all wage 
workers on ec^ual terms. 

The Board of Control is made up of 25 members: 15 appointed by 
the Central Labor Union, 5 elected by the students, and 5 elected by 
the teachers. Since most of the students are regular trade unionists 
and since the representatives of the teachers are almost all members of 
the Teachers' Union and delegates to the Boston Central Labor Union, 
this means that the college is genuinely in the hands of the organized 
labor movement of Boston and is thus ultimately responsible to a body 
of 80,000 workers. 

The students, who have formed a Student Association of their 
own, are continually coming to play a larger part in the running of 
their college. In addition to the 5 regularly elected representatives 

[32] 



of the students on the Board of Control, almost all of the 15 repre- 
sentatives appointed by the Central Labor Union are or have been 
students in the college; so that the students, past and present, have 
now some 17 representatives on the Board of Control as compared 
to the 5 representatives of the teachers. Moreover, in the various 
courses, it is the students of one term who decide what aspect of the 
subject and often what professor they desire for the following term. 

The teachers who have at one time or another given courses in the 
college number over 50. The Boston Trade Union College has been 
fortunate in being able to draw upon some of the best teachers at 
Harvard University, including the Dean of the Harvard Law School, 
and upon professors at Wellesley, Tufts, Simmons, and the Massa- 
chusetts Institute of Technology, as well as teachers in the High 
Schools and other Public Schools of Boston. From the first the 
insistence has been made upon a high standard of scholarship in the 
teaching. The students themselves demand this and it has been felt 
that in the long run the success of the college would depend rather 
on the excellence of the work done in the classroom than upon any 
popular appeal which might merely reduplicate what is being done in 
the innumerable forums already in existence. 

The courses that have been most often chosen by the students and 
therefore most often given include the following subjects: — (1) 
Writing, divided into elementary, intermediate, and advanced classes 
in composition, to meet the different needs ranging from the workers 
of foreign birth who are beginning to write English up to trade 
unionists who may be preparing for positions as secretaries of unions ; 
(2) Discussion, where the men and women of the labor movement 
receive practice in public speaking and debating under expert guid- 
ance; (3) Literature, dealing with the social significance of the recent 
books and plays of various nations; (4) Economics, taking up the 
different theories of the production, distribution and consumption of 
wealth; (5) Law, with especial reference to the law of contracts and 
to labor legislation; (6) Science, including a course in the principles of 
mechanics for machinists and a course in food chemistry for the wives 
of wage earners; (7) Recreation, including gymnastics, dancing, 
concerts, theatrical performances, moving pictures and any other social 
activities which the students may arrange. Other courses are given 
whenever there is sufficient demand for them. 

[33] 



^^^mmtamm- 



The classes meet one evening a week for two hours, the first hour 
usually being devoted to the lecture and the second hour being given 
over to a general discussion in which all the students are encouraged 
to take part. In many of the courses outside reading is done and 
essays and written tests handed in, criticised, and returned to the 
students. 

The year's work in each of these courses is divided into three 
terms of ten weeks each: — (1) the Fall Term, from October to De- 
cember; (2) the Winter Term, from January to March; (3) and the 
Spring Term, from April to June. Most of the courses run con- 
tinuously through the three terms, so that there are really 30 con- 
secutive two-hour meetings of each class throughout the year. Later 
on it is hoped to have in addition a Summer Term from July to 
September. 

The expettses of the college consist chiefly of the printing of the 
little pamphlets giving outlines of the lectures in the courses, the 
salary of the assistant secretary, and the nominal salaries of $100 
which are paid to the teachers for each course of ten lectures, and 
which have often been returned to the funds of the college by such 
teachers as could afford to do so. These expenses have been met in 
three ways: (1) by the fees of $2.50 paid by the students for each 
course; (2) by contributions from the various local unions; (3) and 
by individual subscriptions mostly made up of small sums from trade 
unionists handed in in response to subscription lists circulated in the 
locals. No financial help from the State Board of Education or from 
University Extension has been accepted. The trade unionists have 
preferred not only to control their own college but also to pay for it 
themselves. 

The buildings in which the classes have so far been held include 
the High School of Practical Arts in Roxbury, the Abraham Lincoln 
School, the English High School, the Boys' Latin School, and the 
rooms of the Boston Central Labor Union and of other trade unions. 
As soon as a Labor Lyceum is built in Boston, it is hoped to have 
accommodation there for all the classes. The Boston Trade Union 
College will then be able to depend entirely on the resources of the 
organized labor movement itself. 

[34] 



wmn 



The Trade Union College of Washington, D. C. 

The Trade Union College of Washington, D. C, was organized by 
a number of trade unionists in May, 1919, at a meeting called for 
that purpose through the initiative of Mrs. Annie Riley Hale. The 
college opened in November, 1919. The preamble of the constitution 
of the college adopted at the meeting declares : — 

It being the avowed object of the Trade Union movement in the 
United States of America to organize in crafts, combine in councils 
and federate in one great national assembly for the purpose of mutual 
protection, assistance and cooperation, which shall enable its members 
to enjoy a full share of the wealth which they help to create, together 
with sufficient leisure in which to develop their social, moral and in- 
tellectual faculties as well as the advantages, benefits and pleasures of 
mutual association which shall enable them to share in the gains and 
honors in this age of great development and civilization in which we 
live. 

Now, therefore. We, the Trade Union delegates in temporary or- 
ganization assembled, together with certain professors, teachers and 
college graduates, in order to secure for Trade Unionists the benefits of 
a higher and more liberal education, as above desired and also to the 
end that we may attract the most educated and intellectual citizens to our 
cause, do hereby declare our intention to found a college, adopting the 
following constitution and by-laws, defining, governing, controlling and 
supporting the same. 

Active membership in the college is confined to local unions affiliated 
with the A. F. of L. The Board of Directors consists of thirteen 
members — comprising the trade union officers of the college, seven 
trade union members elected by the college, and two members elected 
by the instructors of the college. 

Since the inauguration of the college, courses were offered in Eng- 
lish, Music, Dancing, Literature, Mathematics, Mechanical Drawing, 
Economics, History of the Labor Movement, Elementary Law, Cur- 
rent Labor Questions, Vocational Education, Industrial Hygiene, Co- 
operation, and Democratic Control of Industry. The classes are one 
and two hours in length, part lecture and part discussion. The in- 
structors are recruited from the local schools and from government 
experts. 

The total enrollment of students was as follows: First term, 1919- 
1920, eighty-seven; second term, 1919-1920, fifty-nine; first term, 

[35] 



1920-1921, seventeen; second term, 1920-1921, seventeen. The de- 
cline in the student registration of the Washington College is so far 
unique in the labor education movement in this country, and is credited 
to the fact that Washington is not an industrial city and to the 
numerous competitive educational and social institutions in the city. 

Workers' College o£ Seattle. 

The Workers' College of Seattle, founded in 1919, is under the 
control of the Central Labor Council. It is housed in the Labor 
Temple and pays a nominal rent. The Central Labor Council appoints 
an educational committee of seven, representing the main industrial 
groups. The work is financed in several ways. There are collections 
at certain lectures. In certain courses at first the pupils paid tuition. 
In other courses there are voluntary contributions from the pupils. 
A card system has also been used, calling for periodical contributions. 

The Workers' College of Seattle stated what labor education seeks : 

Education in our universities and colleges is essentially capitalistic, in 
that it glorifies competition and seeks to produce an efficient individual. 
Education that may properly be called labor education is essentially 
socialistic, in that it glorifies cooperation and seeks to produce an effi- 
cient social and industrial order. 

The Seattle College offered courses in the Trade Union and Co- 
operative Movements, Marx, Social Ethics, Background of Euro- 
pean History, The American Constitution, The Soviet Constitution, 
The Program of British Labor, Biology, English, Parliamentary 
Law, etc. There is no accurate registration of students kept, but over 
1,000 persons have attended the lectures since the inauguration of 
the work of the college. During the last winter there was an atten- 
dance of 200 Sunday afternoon. The Sunday Evening Forum has 
brought an average attendance of 800. 

One of the instruction methods used is that of resident lecturer. 
A visitor is invited to spend a month in Seattle for the purpose of 
giving courses and lectures. Thus the Seattle college was able to 
secure the services of Dr. Henry de Man, the Belgian labor leader and 
educator, who spent considerable time at the Seattle Workers' Col- 
lege. 

Educational conferences are periodically held with two delegates 
from each union and one or two delegates from each class. These 

[36] 



conferences have acted as an advisory committee on education to the 
Central Labor Council, which in turn appoints its educational com- 
mittee of seven as the executive. 

The Workers' College has a dramatic section, which is an amateur 
dramatic society. 

In the first year of the Workers' College much of the teaching and 
much of the influence came from the State University of Washing- 
ton. In the case of one or two of the professors, this teaching and 
influence were offensive to the workers. By the year 1920-21 the 
Workers' College had emancipated itself from the State University, 
and was in a position to summon its own teachers, including one in 
biology from the State University. 

Rochester Labor College. 

The Amalgamated Clothing Workers in Rochester have established 
a labor college which adds many amusement and recreational features 
to regular class work. The work was begun on a small scale in 1919- 
20. During 1920-21 classes were established in Labor Unionism, 
Public Speaking, Social Problems, English and Singing. In addition 
successful amusement clubs were formed, including a Dramatic Club, 
and a Girls' Bowling Team. 

The classes in the labor college were taught by the Educational 
Director, Paul Blanshard, who is a former union organizer, and by a 
professor in the University of Rochester, and others. Three classes 
were scheduled in English, one of which was an advanced course. 
The course in Labor Unionism, given by the educational director, was 
a course in the practical aspects of the union movement with par- 
ticular reference to the clothing industry in Rochester. It was held 
every Thursday night before the sessions of the Joint Board, so that 
nearly all leaders of the union were reached. In the class in Public 
Speaking practical parliamentary law was taught for the first fifteen 
minutes of each session by a parliamentary drill in which each member 
of the class took the chair and was removed as soon as he made a 
mistake. Sample subjects for discussion were : Resolved, that piece 
work is better than week work in the clothing industry; Resolved, that 
the United States should recognize Soviet Russia ; Resolved, that un- 
employment insurance is practical in the clothing industry ; nominating 

[37] 



aSiiiiiiiitilmMtiiiii^ 



speeches for union officers, speeches to strike mass meetings, etc. A 
union debating team was chosen from the class which debated an 
outside team on communism. 

The classes were conducted from November until April and aver- 
aged 20 to 25 in attendance. These included several lecture series 
given by the educational director before local unions. 

A weekly paper of four pages was published as part of the Roch- 
ester educational program, and distributed free to the clothing shops. 
It was devoted chiefly to union notices and discussion of educational 
subjects. The paper has been suspended for the summer months and 
will be resumed in September. The union also had a small library, 
which was a branch of the public library with books on labor added 
to the collection. All classes in the labor college were open to union 
members free of charge. 

The educational work in Rochester was given impetus by a large 
weekly forum which averaged over 1,000 in attendance. The forum 
was held in the union's headquarters and speakers of national reputa- 
tion were often brought to Rochester. Among the speakers at these 
Friday night forums were: W. Z. Foster, who spoke on "The Steel 
Strike" ; Joseph Schlossberg, Secretary-Treasurer of the A. C. W. of 
A., on "Labor in Europe" ; Bishop Paul Jones, on "The New Leader- 
ship." Frequently debates replaced the speakers, and well attended 
debates were held on such subjects as "Resolved, that the Church Is 
Beneficial to Labor" ; "That the I. W. W. is Reactionary in Its Po- 
litical Philosophy"; "That America Should Follow in the Path of 
Russia and Adopt Communism"; etc. 

The Friday night educational forums were followed by dancing, 
but no union member was allowed to dance who did not attend the 
lecture. The union is continuing its educational work in the summer 
by arranging for meetings of union members and their famiHes at a 
summer cottage. An elaborate program has been planned for next 
year with compulsory classes in unionism for new members. 

The women, who constitute a majority of the clothing workers of 
Rochester, were not neglected. They had classes of their own and 
many social activities under the direction of Miss Edith Christenson. 
Some of the topics of lectures and discussions before a special wom- 
en's group were : "Should a Woman Obey Her Husband" ? "Should 

[38] 



a Woman Earn Her Own Living" ? "Physical Fitness" ; "Women and 
Clothes." Popular lectures on economic and social themes were 
given before union locals under such titles as : "How to Be a 
Millionaire"; "How to Die in the Poor House"; "Why Women 
Should Be Discontented"; "H I Were Harding," etc. 

A pamphlet on "How the Union Works," which describes the 
operations of the union and its general purposes, was prepared by the 
educational department and distributed through the shops by shop 
chairmen. 

The cost of the Rochester educational program including the 
weekly paper and the salary of the educational director was approxi- 
mately one cent per member per week. The funds were raised by the 
Amalgamated Clothing Workers of Rochester. 

One of the reasons for the success of the Rochester program has 
been the equipment of the union building. The building is located in 
the heart of the residence district of the workers and is supplied with 
two large auditoriums, classrooms and adequate offices. 

Baltimore Labor Class. 

The original educational undertaking in Baltimore was the Com- 
munity School which grew out of the Community Church, which 
latter was conducted by two progressive Episcopal ministers. The 
Community School had classes in five or six subjects and found 
Sundays particularly useful for meetings. Some of the classes num- 
bered as many as 40' students, about equally divided between men and 
women. This was altogether the most important project among work- 
ers which Baltimore has experienced. After operating for about a 
year it came to an end three years ago when the building in which 
classes were held was torn down. 

In April, 1920, the Baltimore Labor College, which sought to obtain 
the cooperation of both the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of 
America and unions affiliated with the Baltimore Federation of Labor, 
started four classes, using one of the downtown buildings of the 
Johns Hopkins University for night courses. The subjects taught 
were : Public Speaking, English, Current Events, and History of the 
English Labor Movement. Four instructors were selected from a 
list of eleven competent people who volunteered their services. Classes 

[39] 



A^^'''BfSH8PS«i^>'^»'P«'W"!"^»*'P"^^ 



numbered about ten students each. Attendance was regular for the 
two months during which the classes operated. Small fees were 
charged the students. 

The Labor College stopped for the summer and the work was re- 
sumed in the fall by the Educational Committee of the Joint Board 
of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America. The clothing 
trade was much depressed and it was possible to start only one class, 
taught by Dr. Broadus Mitchell, of Johns Hopkins University. 
Current Events seemed the best choice in subject-matter. It had a 
regular attendance of fifteen, two-thirds women and one-third men, 
not all of whom, however, were members of the Amalgamated. It 
met in the Progressive Labor Lyceum, convenient to the homes of 
the students, on Saturday nights- from 8 to 9.30, from October to 
April, inclusive. Half of the period has been given to statement by 
the instructor and the other half to discussion. The discussion, states 
Dr. Mitchell, has developed not only valuable contribution of fact but 
useful points of view. The students have been astonishingly regular 
in attendance, were not deterred by the worst weather, and seemed 
never to want a holiday. There has been no charge of any kind. 

Next session it is hoped to inaugurate two new classes, one in 
Modern Literature, and another in General Science. These will be 
helpful, it is suggested, in contributing, the one, cultural training, and 
the other, familiarity with objective examination, which is important 
for workers. 

The class this winter has been conducted with entire informality 
and anything done has been at the instance of the whole group. 

The Department of Education 

of the Pennsylvania Federation of Labor. 

The Pennsylvania Labor Education Committee was organized at 
the Altoona convention of the Pennsylvania Federation of Labor in 
May, 1920. An Executive Committee of fifty labor representatives 
throughout the State was elected at that time, J. R. Copenhaver 
(machinist) and A. Epstein were elected Chairman and General 
Secretary, respectively. Shortly afterward, the Committee was con- 
verted into the Department of Education of the Pennsylvania Federa- 
tion of Labor, with President James H. Maurer acting as Advisor. 

C40] 



Although the convention passed several resolutions urging the in- 
auguration of educational work in the State, no definite fund was 
appropriated for this work. 

Despite the lack of money, the 1920-21 season opened with regular 
trade union colleges in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh and labor classes 
in Allentown, Bethlehem, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Pen Argyl, Potts- 
ville and Reading. 

The Philadelphia Trade Union College. 

The Philadelphia Trade Union College was organized in June, 
1920, by a number of trade union representatives of that city. The 
college is under the control of a board of trustees composed of repre- 
sentatives of the different unions and elected by all the affiliated unions. 
An affiliation fee of ten dollars is charged each local union. Approxi- 
mately forty organizations affiliated with the college during the first 
year. The instructors are recruited from the more liberal and sym- 
pathetic members of the faculties of the local universities. 

During the winter of 1920-21, the Philadelphia Trade Union Col- 
lege gave courses in Labor and Industry, Labor and the Law, Plan 
Reading, and Public Speaking. A course in English was also given 
during the season. The total enrollment of students was ninety, with 
a regular attendance of about fifty. A fee of two dollars and fifty 
cents was charged each student per course of ten weeks. All classes 
were held in union halls. 

The Pittsburgh Trade Union College. 

The Pittsburgh Trade Union College was organized early in July, 
1920, at a meeting of a number of trade union representatives called 
for that purpose by the Pennsylvania Labor Education Committee. 
As in Philadelphia, the college is under the control of a board of 
trustees composed of representatives of local unions. The funds 
were raised by contributions from the Central Labor Union and local 
unions and a fee of two dollars per course was charged each student. 
The instructors here, as in Philadelphia, are recruited from the uni- 
versities. 

The total enrollment of students during the 1920-21 session was 
sixty, while the average regular attendance was about forty. The 
Pittsburgh Central Labor Union, which in the beginning held itself 

[41] 



aloof from (and looked down with suspicion upon) the work of the 
college in that city, is now thoroughly in sympathy with the movement 
and it is expected that next year it will finance considerably the work 
of the school. The courses given by the Pittsburgh College included 
Economics, History of the Labor Movement, Industrial Problems and 
Literature. 

The Workers' Educational Classes 

in the Smaller Cities in Pennsylvania. 

The Pennsylvania Labor Education Committee and its general 
secretary, A. Epstein, undertook work in the smaller cities of the 
State. Here new ground was broken and new methods of organi- 
zation devised. In these cities, local part-time teachers who were 
capable and who were sufficiently in sympathy with the movement to 
teach in workers' schools were not available. There was only one 
thing to be done and that was to secure the cooperation of several 
nearby cities which, on a cooperative basis, would employ a full-time 
instructor to give one lesson a week in each city. To do this it was 
necessary to enroll the aid of at least five or six nearby towns. 

An intensive campaign for labor education was carried on during 
the summer and fall of 1920, and the 1920-21 season opened with 
classes in Allentown, Bethlehem, Harrisburg, Lancaster, Pen Argyl, 
Pottsville and Reading. A full-time teacher, Charles J. Hendley, 
who was stationed in this district, met one class a week in each of 
these towns. The course consisted of twenty-six weekly lessons cover- 
ing: The Evolution of Industry, The Social and Economic Conse- 
quences of the Industrial Revolution, The Problems of the City, State 
and National Government as a Result of the Industrial Changes, The 
Legal Position of the Corporations and Trade Unions, The Reforms 
Proposed Through Social Legislation, The History and Present 
Status of Jthe Labor Movement. A few lectures were devoted to 
modern movements for industrial progress, as : The Single Tax, The 
Co-operative Movement, Socialism, etc. Each course lasted for two 
hours and consisted not only of lectures but also of readings, digests, 
or reports on readings by students before the class, as well as quizzes 
and discussion. 

The work in these towns was financed entirely by the central labor 
unions and local unions. No fee was charged the individual student. 

[42] 



Tlie response of some local unions has been exceedingly encouraging. 
A number have contributed as much as $100 each. In the beginning 
most classes met in schoolrooms, but gradually the use of some of 
these rooms was refused by the school boards, although not a single 
charge was ever brought against any of the students or instructors. 
A few classes, however, continued to meet in schoolrooms. 

On April 1, 1921, there were a total of 338 students enrolled in 
nine cities in Pennsylvania, with an average attendance of 197. 
Reports on 138 books were read by the students before the classes, 
the great majority of which, the teachers say, were of high grade. 
The 338 students mentioned above include only those who have at- 
tended the classes at least three times during the season. About 150 
more have attended the classes less than three times. The percentage 
of regular attendance as compared with the total enrollment was 
fifty-nine. 

At the latest convention of the Pennsylvania Federation of Labor, 
held in May, 1921, in Harrisburg, James H. Maurer, President 
of the Federation, presented a comprehensive report on the Workers' 
Educational Classes in Pennsylvania, summarizing the work that has 
been accomplished during the past year and recommended to the con- 
vention that the delegates, "by appropriate resolution, empower and 
instruct your executive committee to formulate such plans, adopt such 
measures and policies and use so much of the Federation funds as in 
their wisdom will best promote the success of this important work." 
A resolution to that effect was introduced and was unanimously 
adopted by the delegates. 

The Trade Union College of Greater New York. 

The Trade Union College of Greater New York was organized in 
the spring of 1920 under the auspices of a number of local unions in 
New York City. The college received the endorsement of such 
organizations as the Machinists' District Council No. 15, the New 
York Harbor Council of Railway and Steamship Clerks and the 
Allied Printing Trades Council. The object of the college is: 

To provide educational opportunities for those who work for a living, 
by establishing lecture and study courses, or by such other means as 
may be deemed practicable. 

[43] 



Active membership of the College is open to any local union con- 
ditioned upon approval of the Board of Directors. This Board is 
made up of fifteen members consisting of (a) the officers of the 
college, (b) seven members elected by the College Council and (c) 
four members elected by the faculty of the college. The affiliation 
fee is ten dollars per annum. 

The school conducted two classes in 1920-21 — one in English and 
the other in Law in its Relation to the Trade Unions. The summer 
session had a total registration of twenty-eight, and the winter season 
of thirty-six students. The students paid $2.50 each per course of 
ten lectures. The classes were held in a public schoolroom. 

Mrs, Annie Riley Hale, whom we have mentioned in the experiment 
of Washington, D. C, was an initiator of this New York Trade 
Union College. 

Amherst Classes for Workers. 

Amherst College, under the leadership of Walton H. Hamilton 
and F. S. May, undertook to organize classes for workers under the 
joint auspices of the College and certain labor groups as 

an expression of the belief that an opportunity for liberal education 
should be open to all who feel the need of it. They (the classes) estab- 
lish a working connection between Amherst College and the group of 
working men and women in its vicinity, so that each may offer to the 
other the wisdom that has been gained through its experience, and the 
joint product applied to the solution of problems that are common to all 
of us. 

Classes were opened October, 1920, in Springfield and Holyoke, 
Mass. The instruction is given by members of the faculty. The 
Executive Board consists of thirteen members, nine of whom are 
members of trade unions, and four represent the college. The funds 
are raised from a fee of two dollars charged each student per course. 
But the actual financial support comes from the college and from a 
grant by the Commonwealth Fund of New York. 

The courses given during the past year were: Current Economic 
Problems, and Trade Union Problems. The total enrollment was 
forty-five. One class met in a Public School, one in a trade union 
hall. 

[44] 



Workers' University, Cleveland, Ohio. 

The first season of educational activity for the International Gar- 
ment Workers of Cleveland began November 1, 1920. The Board of 
Education paid four instructors : English, Gymnasium, Pianist, and 
instructor in History of the Labor Movement. The Garment Workers 
exercised complete jurisdiction over the planning of courses and the 
selection of teachers. Classes were conducted at the Headquarters of 
the Union although public school buildings were available. A large 
auditorium in an adjoining club house served for gymnasium practice, 
motion pictures, lectures and large meetings. 

Recognizing the psychological value of the short term in stimulat- 
ing interest, courses were planned on the basis of six weeks to a term. 
At the end of this period, all the courses originally planned were con- 
tinued on request. The subjects offered were : English, History of 
the American Labor Movement, Economics, History of Society, 
Modern Drama; Health: Personal Hygiene, Home Nursing, Shop 
Sanitation, Gymnasium, and through the generous contribution of a 
sympathizer, a circulating and reference library was conducted with 
the cooperation of the local public library which loaned books. 

There was no stipulated Budget for the Educational Department. 
The salary of the educational director, plus the cost of stationery, 
printing and postage represented the average monthly expenditure. 
The work was practically carried on by volunteer instruction. 

Publicity was secured through the usual channels : newspapers, 
printed and verbal announcements, dodgers, posters and personal 
communications. 

An Educational Committee representing two members from each 
shop was at first organized to assist in shaping policy, advertising 
classes and conducting the follow-up work among students who 
dropped out. Subsequently the union voted to transfer this function 
to the Executive Committee of one local which had taken initiative 
in educational activities. Two-thirds of the members on this Com- 
mittee attended courses and were therefore, in a sense, representative 
of the student body. Expediency dictated this arrangement which 
was not intended to stand as a policy. Regular meetings of the Com- 
mittee were held every two weeks, and students entertained the 
general membership one Sunday afternoon each month. 

[45] 



An effort was made to obtain the cooperation of the Central Labor 
Body to organize a Central Labor College for all organized workers 
in Cleveland. 

The Educational work of the Cleveland Garment Workers is under 
the auspices of the Educational Department of the International 
Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. 

The Department of Education of the 

Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America. 

The Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America has had a leading 
part in workers' education in America since its birth in 1914. The 
value of education for the largest possible number of its membership 
was duly emphasized at the very inception of the organization. And 
since then no opportunity was missed to further educational activities 
in the organization. Before it was one year old, elaborate plans of 
both extensive and intensive educational activities were formulated by 
the administration of the imion. Reporting to the Second Biennial 
Convention, in the spring of 1916, the General Executive Board stated 
the position of the union in the matter of education in unmistakable 
terms. Education is considered to be the very backbone of the life 
of the organization, the promise of its future. It declared : 

It is not enough ... to merely organize the workers. Organiza- 
tion in itself is no end and has no meaning. ... If we content our- 
selves with that and make no effort at higher elevation we simply 
confirm the worker in the status of a biped beast of burden. . . . 
Material improvements are in the very nature of things of primary im- 
portance. But when the body of the worker is more rested and better 
fed, his intellect should likewise be taken care of . . . 

A report submitted to the Third Biennial Convention reiterated : 
It is our intention to make education work a permanent feature of our 
organization. 

A resolution declaring that 

It is important that a spiritual atmosphere should be created among 
our members for the purpose of bringing out the best that is in them, 

instructed the General Office 

to endeavor to the best of their ability to establish libraries and reading 
rooms in all clothing centers where conditions will permit so as to enable 
our members to enjoy their spare time in a wholesome atmosphere among 
their fellow workers. 

[46] 



The Boston Convention finally decided for the establishment of a 
National Educational Department to be located at the General Office, 
with an Educational Director in charge of such department. The 
resolution covering the subject and unanimously adopted reads : 

Whereas, education is the basis of permanent and responsible or- 
ganization among the workers, and 

Whereas, the crystalHzation of the class consciousness of the work- 
ers is only possible through the education of the workers, be it 

Resolved, that a special educational department be organized as a 
part of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America with an educa- 
tional director, and be it further 

Resolved, that the object of this educational department be to create 
educational machinery in every industrial center, and be it further 

Resolved, that the educational department establish relations with 
national and international bureaus of education and with libraries and 
other institutions akin to its own purpose and intents. 

The Department of Education of the A. C. W. of A. was started 
early in the fall of 1920' with J. B, Salutsky as National Director, Mr. 
Paul Blanshard, Regional Director for Rochester and territory; and 
David J. Saposs, Educational Director for Greater New York. The 
National Director visited a number of large centers and extensive 
plans for local activities were worked out. Unfortunately, unemploy- 
ment and a lock-out of the clothing workers, which affected nearly 
100,000 members of the Amalgamated in New York, Baltimore, Bos- 
ton and Philadelphia, upset the entire program of education of the 
Amalgamated during 1920-21. Very little work could therefore be 
done in New York and Boston, the two cities most affected by the 
lockout. The work done in Rochester, Baltimore and Chicago is 
described elsewhere in this pamphlet. 

The educational work actually carried on by the Amalgamated in 
New York may be summed up as follows : 

1. Mass-lectures were given in several districts of the Greater City. 
In some cases the lectures were illustrated with stereopticon views, pre- 
pared for the organization. In the Brownsville and Williamsburg dis- 
tricts the attendance was particularly large and members would turn 
out with their families, the evenings set for the lectures having rapidly 
become an event in their social life. 

2. A considerable number of local unions, among them many of the 
largest, had special lectures given before their meetings would take up 
business. In most cases the local lectures would be followed by dis- 
cussion. 

[47] 



3. In several Public Schools courses of English were instituted, the 
teachers having been supplied by the Public School system. Study classes 
in other subjects were to be started but difficulties with the school 
authorities regarding the subjects and the language of instruction had 
delayed the matter, and then the lockout made practically impossible any 
systematic work. 

4. The Union had also established a number of scholarships for its 
members at the Rand School of Social Science. Twenty-eight part time 
students enrolled for a study under a curriculum worked out by the 
Union and the Faculty of the School. The students paid one half of the 
tuition, the Union paying for the second half. 

5.^ Later in the season a temporary Day Labor College was estab- 
lished for sufficiently advanced students out of the ranks of the strikers. 
Thirty-five passed the requirements of the Board of the College. Instruc- 
tion was given daily with Mr. Saposs and Solon De Leon in charge. 
Classes were opened on January 17th and work went on for nearly two 
months, when a considerable number of settlements of strikes took away 
their forced leisure from the students. 

The courses offered were as follows : History of Civilization, Public 
Speaking, Working Class Movements, and Economics. 

An Amalgamated Active Workers' Club was organized for the 
purpose of getting the officials of the organization and the members 
of all standing governing and legislatory committees to take up self- 
educational work. The members of the A. C. W. of A. get together as 
often as possible for discussion of important problems of a larger 
calibre. 

The Educational Department has also taken up the publication of 
books and pamphlets to meet educational needs. The following four 
pamphlets have been produced and to a large extent sold and dis- 
tributed : 

1. The Rise of the Clothing Workers, by Joseph Schlossberg. 

2. Problems of Labor Organization, by Joseph Schlossberg. 

3. Latest Developments in Trade Unionism, by George Soule. 

4. 27 Questions and Answers on the Open Shop Movement, by Paul 
Blanshard. 

In preparation are at present a few more pamphlets of the Educa- 
tional Series, mostly 32-page booklets, and two larger works — one 
being an analytical History of the Lockout in New York, and the 
other. An Amalgamated Labor Alamanac or Year Book. 

[48] 



At the recent meeting of the Workers' Education Bureau of Amer- 
ica, Joseph Schlossberg, Secretary-Treasurer of the A. C. W. of A., 
declared that labor education must embody the following principles : 

1. Simple agitation, leading to organization. 

2. An understanding of the play of social forces compelling the 
formation of a trade union. 

3. Education on relations with the employers, on responsibility of 
the officers and the members to the organization. 

4. Education to understand that the labor organization to function 
successfully must adapt itself to changes in industry, that the craft 
union must become an industrial organization. 

5. Education on the fact that the labor organization is hampered in 
its legal activities by the political agencies of society; by the lawmakers 
and other public officials. 

6. Education upon the great social problem, the cause of the raging 
class struggle and the final aim of the labor movement. 

The Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America have also carried 
on separate educational work for their own members in Chicago. A 
number of courses were given to selected groups, arranged according 
to the interests in the subject-matter, preparation for study, etc. The 
courses included English, Arithmetic, Public Speaking, Elementary 
Law, Trade Unions, Cooperative Movement, Movement of Thought 
in the 19th Century, Modern Literature, Social Hygiene as well as 
classes in dancing and dramatic art clubs. Teachers in the Chicago 
Study Classes of the Amalgamated included such men as Professor 
James H. Tufts, Head of the Department of Philosophy of the 
University of Chicago, and Professor F. S. Deibler of Northwestern 
University. Madame Lomonossoff was in charge of the educational 
activities. All classes were conducted at the Home Building of the 
Union. The concerts and entertainments which were given during 
1920-21 proved highly successful. 

Workers' College of Minneapolis, Minn. 

The Workers' College of Minneapolis was organized on January 
1, 1921, under the auspices of the Minneapolis Trade and Labor 
Assembly. Unlike most labor colleges, representation on the Board 
of Control of the Minneapolis Workers' College is given to "all 
working class organizations — Socialist Party, L W. W., etc." The 
college has an advisory committee composed of all interested persons 

[49] 



and includes ministers of the gospel, college professors, etc. The 
funds are raised from contributions of local unions and from student 
fees which range from three to five dollars per course. 

The college opened its season with an enrollment of 162 students. 
During the last term courses were given in English, Public Speaking, 
Sociology, Economics, History, and Current Events. The most popu- 
lar courses were English, Public Speaking and History. 

Next year it is planned to start the work of the college early in 
the fall, with double the number of courses. A new Board of Con- 
trol of representatives from over thirty unions was recently elected 
and it is now proposed that every local union contribute to the school 
every month a sum equal to one cent per member. This suggestion is 
made largely for two reasons: first, it distributes the burden in an 
equitable manner among all union members, and secondly, it assures 
a steady income, 

St. Paul Labor College, St. Paul, Minn. 

The St. Paul Labor College was established on January 1, 1921. 
The college is under the control of the Trades and Labor Assembly of 
that city. The total enrollment for the year 1921 was about 100. 
The tuition fee was $4 per course. Courses were offered in English, 
Public Speaking, and the History of the Labor Movement. The 
latter course, a series of free lectures, was given on Sunday afternoons. 
It is significant that it was the most popular course, having an average 
regular attendance of 40 students. Each course continued for 14 
weeks. Classes usually met in labor halls. One class used a public 
library room for which no rent was paid. A newspaper editor, a high 
school teacher, a prominent attorney and a college professor were the 
instructors. 

For the summer, the students had, of their own initiative, organized 
an Economic Study Club which chooses a different member of the 
class as teacher at each meeting. The Club uses Henry Clay's "Econ- 
omics for the General Reader" and the class outlines of the educational 
department of the International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, as 
guides for discussion. The class is limited to twenty members. 
It will be interesting to watch this experiment of a class without a 
teacher. 

[50] 



SCHOOLS ON A SPECIAL BASIS 

The Rand School. 

. The Rand School of Social Science in New York is "an autono- 
mously organized educational auxiliary to the Socialist and Labor 
movements of the United States. It is owned by the American 
Socialist Society." Its afifairs are conducted under the control of an 
annually elected Board of Directors of nine members. 

Detailed execution of approved plans of the Board rests with the 
Educational Director and the Secretary of the School. They and the 
Board of Directors of the American Socialist Society are assisted by 
an Educational Council, composed of five regular instructors, two of 
the administrative staff, and two student delegates. This body meets 
three or four times a month and to a large extent is given a free hand 
in planning courses, choosing teachers, and carrying into effect the 
policies of the Board of Directors. 

During each of the last four years (1918-1921) the total number 
of students has ranged from three to five thousand. 

Total figures such as those have little definite meaning. Of the 
pupils included in the totals given, many attend only one or two 
courses of six to twelve lectures each; a few (from twelve to thirty 
students a year) give practically their whole time to study for six 
months; several hundred take up courses which aggregate from 
seventy to one hundred sessions in the year. 

There is a training course for making workers efficient for the 
Socialist Party, the Trade Unions and the Cooperatives. This course 
is taken by a group who give full time for six months. Many of 
these, after graduation, become labor secretaries, organizers and 
editors. 

There is also a training course designed especially for residents of 
New York, in which students attend four or five sessions a week, 
evenings and Saturday and Sunday afternoons, for eighteen months. 

The detailed schedule of courses for the year 1920-21 includes 
Economics, Political Science, General and Economic History, Anthro- 
pology, Sociology, Criminology, Socialism, Trade Unionism, Coopera- 
tion, Industrial Problems, Education, Logic and Psychology, Ethics, 
Statistics and Research, Accounting, Bookkeeping, Secretarial Work, 

[51J 



Public Speaking, English Composition and Literary Criticism, Mod- 
ern Drama, and Modern Poetry. As a glance shows, these subjects 
are not chosen with the aim of impressing a narrow dogmatism upon 
the pupils of the school, but to meet human needs. The students 
coming to this institution have exceptional opportunity of influencing 
the curriculum. It is their desire to find fullness of life through the 
orderly development of the labor movement in the fields of coopera- 
tion, trade unionism, and politics which leads them to study. 

The Rand School was established in 1906 by a trust fund of the 
late Mrs. Carrie Rand, and a contribution from her daughter, the 
late Mrs. Carrie Rand Herron. The greater part of the capital since 
then has been withdrawn by the various heirs upon coming of age 
according to the terms of the deed of trust, and the income has thus 
been diminished. Tuition funds now meet from 40 to 50 per cent of 
the Rand School's expense of maintenance. Profits from the Rand 
Book Store and the People's House Cafeteria provide for another 
25 to 35 per cent. There are many thousand dollars a year to be 
raised by the yearly ball, entertainments, and contributions. The 
tuition fee is $4 for each 12-session course and $7 for each course of 
24 sessions. 

Arrangements are made with the International Ladies' Garment 
Workers' Union, the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, the 
Workmen's Circle, United Automobile Workers, Amalgamated Metal 
Workers, International Jewelry Workers, and various branches of the 
Socialist Party for courses for their members. 

The workers of the clothing industry and the Rand School have 
always been in close contact. The educational movement of these ad- 
vanced workers (with their large Jewish membership) has received 
considerable impulse and furtherance from the Rand School. The 
industrial structure of the clothing industry, the high intelligence and 
character of its membership, the absence of labor political graft among 
its officers — all are illustrative of both the causes and the effects of 
adult education on the workers. But no swift "morals" and "lessons" 
can be drawn for the American labor movement in general. The 
Jewish mind, which dominates the clothing industry, is alert, eager for 
instruction, open to ideas. Through suffering, the Jewish group has 
learned solidarity. So these experiments of the International Ladies' 
Garment Workers' Union, the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of 

[52] 



America, the United Labor Education Committee, and the Rand 
School of Social Science, must be considered as a special group whose 
progress in labor education is more advanced than that of other 
groups in the country. 

The Rand School has been a pioneer in workers' education. For 
all who believe in the Rand School principles of constitutional pro- 
cedure and peaceful solutions of vexed questions by majority con- 
sent it becomes a matter of privilege and duty to champion the Rand 
School as occasion arises. It is not the Rand School that is being 
advocated. It is workers' education. 

Work People's College. 

The Work People's College is a resident school located in Duluth, 
Minnesota. It was founded by the Finnish People's Club. The 
college is under the control of a Board of Directors elected by the 
stockholders, many of whom belong to Finnish workers' clubs. The 
school lays emphasis on the education of the rank and file along the 
lines of industrial unionism and has been, it is claimed, a great in- 
fluence among the Finns. The school owns its own property and 
buildings and is valued at about $40,000. Most of the students re- 
side during the entire time of the school season in the college dormi- 
tory. Each student pays $46 a month which is apportioned as fol- 
lows: $30 for board, $6 for room and $10 for tuition. Student fees 
make up about 80% of the expenditures. The balance of the funds 
is secured from a quarterly publication and from donations in about 
equal proportions. 

The subjects taught in this school include : English, Arithmetic, 
Bookkeeping, Finnish, Economics, Sociology, History of the Ameri- 
can Labor Movement and Public Speaking. The student body is 
made up entirely of unskilled Finnish workers. About 95% of these 
have had a common school education in their native country. Every 
one of the students is working either in the lumber industry or in 
the mining industry. Very few of them have a trade. The majority 
of the students, it is reported, come to the school for practical courses, 
such as English, Mathematics and the Commercial Subjects. The rule 
of the college, however, is that every student must attend at least one 
class in either Economics, Sociology or History of the American 
Labor Movement. 

[53] 



The school attempted to run courses for eight months in the year. 
It was found, however, that students could not be kept at school after 
the middle of April nor could students commence the school year 
until late in the fall. Since 1914, therefore, the school year lasts 
only for five months, beginning in November and extending until 
April 15. The school employs four full-time teachers. Ninety-five 
students resided at the school during the past year. 

Detroit Workers' Educational Association. 

The Detroit Workers' Educational Association is an organization 
made up of groups of working men and women which has been 
conducting lectures and classes in the House of the Masses since its 
inception in May, 1918. The subject-matter studied is largely that 
of Marxian Socialism. A total of forty students were enrolled in 
these classes, 1920-21. The necessary funds are raised by the Work- 
ers' Educational Association of Detroit. 

In addition to the above organization, two other educational asso- 
ciations, the Proletarian Party and the Detroit Socialist Education 
Society, conduct study classes. The three organizations, it is claimed, 
conducted about fifteen study classes besides mass meetings every 
week. 

Workers' Institute. 

The Workers' Institute of Chicago was originally supported by the 
United Hebrew Trades, the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of 
America and by many of the radical and liberal workers in Chicago. 
It has conducted many classes and arranged series of lectures by men 
of various degrees of prominence. Last winter it arranged a series 
of lectures on trade union problems by W. Z. Foster as well as a 
series on philosophy and economics by Carl Hessler. The Workers' 
Institute was forced to dissolve a few months ago for a number of 
reasons. Chief among these were the raids of the Department of 
Justice in which a number of students were arrested while attending 
classes, and which intimidated many from attending the school, and 
the fact that most of the organizations who previously supported the 
Institute have started their own educational work. Many of the 
former supporters of the Institute have also now gone in with the 
educational work of the Women's Trade Union League. 

[54] 



Brookwood. 

Brookwood is a resident workers' college at Katonah, N. Y., 
forty-one miles from New York City on the Harlem Division of the 
New York Central Railroad. It is located on a fifty-three acre tract 
of wooded land among the hills and brooks of Westchester County, 

Save for the fact that it stands for a new and better order, moti- 
vated by social values rather than pecuniary ones, Brookwood is 
not a propagandist institution. It aims to seek the truth, free from 
dogma and doctrinaire teaching. It believes that "labor and farmer, 
movements constitute the most concrete, vital forces working for 
human freedom and that by exerting a wise social control they can 
bring in a new era of justice and human brotherhood." 

Brookwood seeks to provide working men and working women 
with an education which best fits them for labor service. It is Brook- 
wood's task to train economists and statisticians; journalists, writers, 
and teachers; and organizers, workers, and speakers for the labor 
and farmer movements in order that these movements may have 
people coming from their own ranks, with their own point of view, 
who are fully capable, by training and knowledge, of exercising a 
genuine statesmanship. Brookwood, then, is virtually a professional 
school to educate workers to work in the workers' movements. It 
frankly aims NOT to educate the workers out of their class. 

The length of the full course is two years, but arrangements have 
been made for a third year of post-graduate work of a specialized 
character. In addition to this, shorter courses are offered for stu- 
dents who cannot attend the full time. A correspondence course 
will also be given for trade union secretaries. 

The curriculum is founded mainly upon the social sciences (econ- 
omics, sociology, government, history, etc.) but also includes Eng- 
lish, literature, and a course made up of a series of short courses in 
the other sciences. Special lectures are given in journalism, workers' 
education, and law as it affects the workers. 

The principal course is one in social problems running through the 
entire two years with history taught as ancillary to that course. By 
the minute consideration of definite, concrete problems (such as un- 
employment, business cycles, the individual vs. the state, etc.) the 
student acquires knowledge of these sciences. Time is also spent in 

[55] 



the statistical la'boratory so that theories can be tested by facts 
through the use of the statistical method. In this way mathematics 
are studied in connection with the more gripping actualities of the 
workers' lives. In order, too, that the workers may analyze, under- 
stand, and criticize financial statements as well as to enable them to 
appreciate financial problems, accountancy is studied in the same 
course. Provision is made for original research by individuals and 
groups, especially in the line of field work. 

In the history courses at Brookwood, consideration is given to the 
social forces at work through the masses rather than to the political 
and militaristic activities of the ruling classes. Partly in connection 
with social problems and partly in connection with history, a course 
in labor is given which takes up not only the history of labor and 
labor organizations, but the problems of labor, labor tactics, and the 
future of labor. 

The cultural side of life, however, is not neglected. Courses in 
English and literature provide much of this while at the same time 
students are learning the art of self-expression. Extra-curriculum 
activities are also organized so as to help to a full appreciation of 
the fine things in music, art, and letters, especially the drama. 

One of the significant features at Brookwood, is the commlinity 
hving which itself presents and offers opportunity to work out the 
problems of democracy as they arise from day to day. Nor are any 
persons set apart as exclusively manual workers. All participate in 
the daily tasks. Faculty and students perform the jobs that call 
for attention, from cooking to wood-cutting and from farming to 
dish-washing. The importance and dignity of hand work and head 
work are both fully recognized. The supreme power of the college 
is the community meeting wherein each member of the community 
has one vote, faculty and students alike, but as the faculty defers to 
student opinion in matters pertaining to them, so the students respect 
the opinion of the faculty in strictly faculty affairs. 

No hard and fast age limits have been set. Brookwood seeks stu- 
dents who are old enough to appreciate their responsibilities to their 
fellow workers and yet young enough so that their training will count 
for the most not only in the length of their service but in the spirit and 
ardor which they put into that service. 

[56] 



There is no fixed charge for tuition. Students are expected to 
pay as much of the actual cost of maintenance as possible and never 
less than $200.00, which represents the bare cost of food. Trade 
Unions can establish Brookwood scholarships at the rate of $450.00 
per person per annum, for which sum their nominees will be accepted 
at Brookwood without a further obligation, provided, of course, that 
such nominees are acceptable to the community. This sum represents 
the bare cost of food and maintenance. 

By the end of a period of three years, it is hoped to reduce the 
cost per student by increasing the number of students to a point 
where the entire cost of maintaining Brookwood can be met through 
Trade Union scholarships. In the meantime, a guarantee fund for 
the construction of new buildings and to meet any possible deficit in 
Trade Union scholarships is to be raised in order to launch the 
undertaking. 

A labor co-operating committee, consisting of John Fitzpatrick, 
president of Chicago Federation of Labor; James H. Maurer, presi- 
dent, Pennsylvania Federation of Labor; Rose Schneiderman, of the 
New York Women's Trade Union League; John Brophy, president 
of District No. 2 U. M. W. of A.; Charles Kutz, chairman of the 
International Association of Machinists, Pennsylvania System; and 
Abraham Lefkowitz of the Teachers' Union of New York City, will 
have charge of laying down the broad policies of the new college and 
will also have supervision of the personnel. The college will be 100 
per cent organized. Every person connected with the college will 
be a card man in the organized teachers' union. 

No examinations are required for entrance to Brookwood. So 
long as vacancies exist, all suitable applicants will be received on a 
probation basis. A student becomes a regular member of the com- 
munity as soon as he has demonstrated a sufficient ability and earnest- 
ness as well as a comprehension of what it means to be a Brookwood 
student. 

The college will open in the fall of 1921, the school year being 
approximately 30 weeks. 

Bryn Mawr Summer School for Women Workers in Industry. 

As this pamphlet goes to press, an interesting and significant ex- 
periment in workers' education is being inaugurated at Bryn Mawr 

[57] 



College, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. A summer school for women 
workers in industry to continue from June 15th to August 10th will 
be held in this girls' college. The requirements for admission in this 
summer school are only ability to read and write English, and a 
common school education or its equivalent, with good health and a 
sound physical condition. No one under eighteen is admitted, and 
candidates between the ages of 20 and 35 are given preference. 

Only women workers in industry are admitted as students. Women 
workers are defined as "women who are working with the tools of 
their trade, and not in a supervisory capacity." For the first summer, 
students will not be admitted who are engaged as teachers, office 
workers, saleswomen in stores and shops, workers in the household, 
and waitresses. The seventy young industrial women who will re- 
ceive scholarships of $200 each, which pays the entire expenses of 
the term, will be recruited from the trade unions, the industrial 
clubs of the Young Women's Christian Association, and the National 
Federation of Girls' Clubs. For the purpose of the scholarships, the 
country is divided into seven regional districts, each of which is 
awarded five scholarships. Large industrial centers such as New 
York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Boston, will receive five additional 
scholarships, and 15 remaining scholarships will be distributed at 
large. Besides these, there are also 11 scholarships for a "Leaders' 
Group," distributed throughout the country. The funds for the 
scholarships are being raised by the alumnae of the college and from 
contributions of public-spirited men and women. 

A joint administrative committee made up of representatives of 
women workers in industry, of representatives of the college and of 
the Bryn Mawr Alumnae Association, states that the object of the 
school is: 

. . . to offer young women of character and ability a fuller special 
education and an opportunity to study liberal subjects, in order that they 
may widen their influence in the industrial world, help in the coming 
social reconstruction, and increase the happiness and usefulness of their 
own lives. 

It is hoped that the Summer School for Women Workers in Industry 
will demonstrate in a concrete way that workers' educational movements 
in this country and abroad may be carried still further and may be 
developed into systematic intellectual work through courses of study 

[58] 



pursued for a number of consecutive weeks in academic surroundings 
of beauty, under the same favorable conditions of complete freedom 
from economic anxiety and domestic care which college students enjoy. 

The courses of instruction laid out for the first summer are divided 
into the following groups: — (1) Industrial Group, including econo- 
mics, labor, and subjects of special interest to industrial workers; 
(2) the Social Group, including literature, history, government, law 
and psychology; (3) the Culture Group, including a course in art, and 
the study of pictures and architecture. Physical hygiene, recreation, 
swimming, dancing and walking are also provided in the program 
for the summer's work. The residence halls and the entire college 
equipment have been placed at the disposal of the working girl 
students during the summer. 

Miss Mary Anderson, director of the Women's Bureau of the U. S. 
Department of Labor, and a member of the Joint Administrative 
Committee, in speaking in regard to the college, declared : 

From the students in the Bryn Mawr School we hope to develop leaders 
among the women workers who will be a vital factor in broadening the 
life and environment as well as bettering the working conditions of their 
sisters. On the other hand, the women workers will make a definite 
contribution to the educational standard of the colleges. They are the 
exponents, the concrete embodiment of the result of existing economic 
conditions. The different quality of this knowledge, and the utilization 
of it in our educational systems, is full of possibilities. Bryn Mawr Col- 
lege has perceived this. Her leadership in the establishment of this 
school is full of significance and hope for broader future basis in public 
education. 

Porto Rico. 

Rafael Alonso, general secretary of the Free Federation of the 
Workingmen of Porto Rico (affiliated to the A. F. of L.), has re- 
ported to us, as follows : — 

"We have no labor college. Union halls are used as conference and 
educational places. Matters relative to the history of the world labor 
movement ; efficiency in trade unions and among the workers, individually ; 
English and Spanish classes, are the subjects dealt with." 

The address of Rafael Alonso is in care of the Free Federation 
of the Workingmen of Porto Rico, Box 270, San Juan, Porto Rico. 

[59] 



Summary 

Such are some of the experiments in workers' education. No 
facile generalizations can be made : the facts are too few, the history- 
is too recent. All that can be said is that approximately 10,000 
workers are studying with some regularity in classes. These classes 
are an attempt to carry on quiet intensive group work. They find 
their strength in being local, regional. They do not attempt to organ- 
ize a "national movement" or "drive." As they slowly grow, they 
will create a new trade union leadership, and will transform the 
thinking of the rank and file. 



[60] 



WORKERS' EDUCATION BUREAU OF AMERICA 

Ever since labor education began to be promoted in more than one 
locality in the United States, the persons active in this movement 
keenly felt the need for the establishment of some central agency 
which would coordinate the various attempts, define the aims and ob- 
jects, stimulate the undertakings and in general guide them in their 
work by pooling their combined experiences. The road was slow 
and uncertain, and the wisdom and cooperation of all the pioneers, 
each of whom was groping, were urgently needed. There were a 
desire and a necessity for consultation and for exchanges of ideas and 
experiences. The delegations of the International Ladies' Garment 
Workers' Union have at several recent A. F. of L. conventions 
brought up the issue of workers' education nationally. 

The first attempt at such coordination and the establishment of a 
National Information Bureau was made at an informal conference in 
Chicago on July 6, 1920, during the Convention of the Farmer-Labor 
Party, by a group of persons interested in labor education. J. M. 
Budish, Chairman of the United Labor Education Committee, was 
elected secretary at that time. . 

On New Year's eve, 1921, another group of persons actively en- 
gaged in labor education, representing about a dozen enterprises, 
gathered at the Civic Club in New York City and organized the Tem- 
porary National Workers' Education Bureau of America. Abraham 
Epstein, General Secretary of the Department of Education of the 
Pennsylvania Federation of Labor, was elected secretary-treasurer. 
It was then decided to issue a call for a conference on labor educa- 
tion, on April 2nd and 3rd. It was also decided to send out a ques- 
tionnaire to all the educational enterprises dealing with such impor- 
tant questions as the problem of control of labor colleges, aims and 
objects, teachers, students' registration, attendance, text books used, 
etc. 

The conference which was held in the auditorium of the New 
School for Social Research, New York City, was a significant and 
promising gathering. Trade unionists, teachers and students met 
there and founded the Workers' Education Bureau of America, a 

[6i] 



W. E. B., as Britain has a W. E. A. (Workers' Educational Associa- 
tion). Twelve labor officials, 34 trade unionists, and other workers, 
20 students, 52 teachers, and many other persons interested in work- 
ers' education attended, making a group of over two hundred. This 
first gathering brought together 135 from New York, 30 from 
Pennsylvania, 15 from Massachusetts, and 6 scattered. Thus the 
organization of the group into an educational bureau, although at first 
regional, will, it is hoped, grow into a nationally representative move- 
ment. 

The object of the Bureau is to act as a clearing house of informa- 
tion; an organization for publicity; a register of teachers; a laboratory 
on text books and other classroom materials, on syllabi of courses and 
on methods of pedagogy; an agency for the collection and coordina- 
tion of statistics. 

The Constitution of the W. E. B. adopted at the recent confer- 
ence gives the purpose of the Bureau as follows : 

To collect and to disseminate information relative to efforts at educa- 
tion conducted by any part of organized labor; to co-ordinate and assist 
in every possible manner the educational work now carried on by the 
organized workers, and to stimulate the creation of additional enterprises 
in labor education throughout the United States. 

What was accomplished by the conference was a closer affiliation of 
workers' education with the American labor movement. The gar- 
ment industry has conducted successful experiments for years. But 
this conference was unusual in the presence also of machinists, brick- 
layers, teamsters, street railwaymen, miners. This achievement was 
due to the interest of such men as James H. Maurer, John Brophy 
and William F. Kehoe. The focusing of this interest into a policy- 
making conference, with an effective program, is the persistent work 
of Fannia M. Cohn, and of Abraham Epstein. 

What was revealed by the conference was an uninformed but eager 
group, ready for the next step. The need is for information on how 
to form groups, what to teach, how to teach, presentation of material, 
and for ideas on what workers' education is, its object, its method. 
Most of the fundamental questions went unanswered. There is no 
outstanding figure in the labor or educational group devoting his life 
to making this one thing prevail. Instead we have tired, busy people, 
serving on many committees, active in a dozen causes. As a teacher 

[62] 



in Pennsylvania labor work states : "The greatest need of the move- 
ment is for devoted and enthusiastic propagandists of the idea of 
workers' education." 

. The success of the tentative bureau rests with the executive com- 
mittee. James H. Maurer, president of the Pennsylvania State Fed- 
eration of Labor, is chairman, and Spencer Miller, Jr., secretary, 465 
West 23rd Street, New York City. The other members of the com- 
mittee are John Brophy, President of District 2 of the United Mine 
Workers of America; Harry Dana, of the Trade Union College of 
Boston; Fannia M. Cohn, of the International Ladies' Garment 
Workers' Union; William F. Kehoe, secretary of the Central Trades 
and Labor Council of Greater New York and Vicinity; Harry Rus- 
sell of the Metal Trades Council of Springfield, Mass. ; Frieda Miller 
of the Trade Union College of Philadelphia, and J. B. Salutsky, 
educational director of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of Amer- 
ica. 

The following organizations and individuals are eligible for mem- 
bership : 

1. International and national labor unions; State Federations of 
Labor and other State Labor organizations; City Central Labor Unions 
and District organizations or Councils; local labor unions, and bona-fide 
cooperative associations. 

2. Labor educational enterprises. 

3. Members of local unions, teachers, organizers, educators, and 
other interested persons may join the Bureau as Associate Members. 
They shall receive all bulletins and such information as the Bureau may 
issue. 

The annual membership dues are as follows : 

$25 for international and national unions; $20 for State Federations 

of Labor and other State labor organizations; $15 for city central unions, 

district councils and labor educational enterprises; $5 for local unions; 

$2 for associate members. 

The proceedings of the first conference will soon be published in 

a pamphlet, obtainable from the secretary of the W. E. B. 



[63] 



SUGGESTIONS ON STARTING CLASSES AND 
INTERESTING STUDENTS 

Prepared by Abraham Epstein^ who organised workers' classes in 
Pennsylvania industrial communities. 

How can an interest in workers' education be awakened ? What is 
the best way of starting a class? How is a class taught? What 
methods hold interest? 

There is no cut and dried method that could be laid down in 
answer to these questions. The problem is one dealing with human 
beings. Even if there were definite methods it would be presumptuous 
on our part to suggest them as the best possible. Up to the present 
writing there has been little information gathered and the experiences 
have been based upon a short period of time. It may not be amiss, 
however, to present some of the processes and plans that have been 
used successfully in organizing workers' classes in typical industrial 
centers in this country. The suggestions are made without any 
sense of finality. 

Approach. 

Perhaps the first step of importance in organizing workers' edu- 
cational classes is the problem of how and whom to approach in order 
to present the idea of workers' education. From what little experi- 
ence can be gathered, it appears that the best means of approach in a 
typical industrial center is the City Central Labor Body. The Central 
Labor Union is best because it is usually made up of the most active 
members of the individual locals who can be counted upon to report 
back to their own organizations. The C. L. U. also generally has a 
great influence in the labor movement of a particular locality and 
anything endorsed by it has weight among the locals. An effort 
should be made to interest a few of the delegates to the Central Labor 
Union in workers' education before the meeting. 

Appeal. 

The fundamental requirements in an appeal in behalf of workers' 
education are the faith and enthusiasm of a few men or women. 
The fact that only a few are conscious of the significance of this 
movement should not deter those active few from presenting their 
ideas. Some of the most successful experiments were sponsored by 
only a few men who had sufficient enthusiasm and devotion. A few 

[64] 



suggestions as to the appeal made by James H. Maurer and the 
writer in organizing the Pennsylvania educational work are here- 
with presented. In appearing before a labor union in behalf of work- 
ers' education they pointed out : 

1. The benefits derived from such work by the British labor move- 
ment and a comparison of the effectiveness of that movement with our 
own. 

2. Education, at the present time, is only one-sided, and is controlled 
by one class. The schools and colleges of today present definitions of 
such words as "justice," "truth," "loyalty," "duty," "patriotism," etc., in 
a way that suits the employers of labor, and not the organized workers. 
All forms of education in existence today — schools, press, churches, the 
movies, etc. — are presenting this one kind of education. Instances are 
cited of teachers of long experience dismissed as soon as they identify 
themselves with organized labor. The experiences of the Interchurch 
World Movement are recalled when it attempted to present the truth in 
favor of labor in the steel mills. 

3. The emphasis of today is laid upon money values rather than hu- 
man values; the well-known men in America are men of money and 
power and not the men of science, art, or social vision. 

4. Many of the employers have had the benefit of a college education, 
and always hire the best brains of the country to help them, but most 
wage-earners were not privileged to secure even an elementary school 
education. Benefits have been derived by organized labor from con- 
nections with such men as Glenn Plumb, Jett Lauck, etc. 

5. AUhough the employers have had the benefit of education, they 
still feel the necessity of keeping in touch with new events by bringing 
men of prominence to their clubs and luncheons and having talks on 
important subjects. Thus, the employers realize the necessity for fur- 
ther study while labor has had neither fundamental education nor dis- 
cussions on present-day problems. 

6. Just as one can be a good American only after he knows some- 
thing of the ideals and history of America, so one cannot be a good 
trade union man without knowing something of the history, struggles, 
and ideals of the labor movement. 

7. Labor education is especially necessary at this time, when the 
struggle between capital and labor is becoming sharper; when an attempt 
is made to crush unionism altogether. Organized labor is spreading out 
into the fields of cooperation; into banking, into controlling its own 
press, etc. These constructive ventures demand a trained and self-dis- 
ciplined rank and file. 

An organization committee of three or five active persons should 
then be appointed. No person should be appointed on such a com- 
mittee who cannot devote at least one or two evenings a week to this 

[65J 



work. The committee should secure a Hst of the meeting places of the 
local unions and apportion the work so that each member of the com- 
mittee can visit those locals which meet nearest his place of residence 
and on such evenings as suit him best. Union organizers who are 
really devoted to education can do effective work in stimulating 
interest. 

Funds. 

There are many methods of financing labor education. There is no 
difficulty in raising the money, once an interest has been aroused in 
the significance of the work. When local instructors can be secured, 
student fees may at times cover most of the expenses. When local 
teachers are lacking or student fees are insufficient, local unions should 
be visited and appealed to. From what experience we have had, it 
was found that but few locals refuse a contribution to workers' edu- 
cation when the appeal is presented to them. Some labor schools 
have had a specified affiliation fee of about ten dollars which was 
charged each local union. In the smaller cities, however, it was 
found that it was best to have no specified amount. Unions have usu- 
ally been found to become generous contributors as soon as the work 
is appreciated. An assessment of one cent per month a member is 
also suggested by some local unions as a measure of the amount of 
their contribution and as a means of securing funds. A plan of as- 
sessing a certain sum by the central labor union to each affiliated 
local for education is also going to be experimented with, soon. Part 
of the funds, it has also been found, can be raised through entertain- 
ments, such as dances, lectures, raffles, etc. This, however, should be 
used only as a last means. In our experience a trade union college, 
financed on money from local unions, is preferable to one financed 
on money from international unions or even central labor bodies. The 
workers take a much keener interest if the work is financed by their 
own local money. In short, the best way seems to be that the central 
labor body should take the initiative in voting sympathy with workers' 
education, and in bearing the expense of promotion, but that the 
classes should be supported mainly by the local unions. 

A circuit rider, an itinerant preacher, who will push the idea in 
industrial communities may be used. He will form a local committee 
and sow pamphlets. Later, he will swing round in his circuit and 

[66] 



revisit these experiments. An entiiusiastic local educational director 
elected by the class can be counted upon to carry on meetings in the 
absence of the travelling teacher. 

If a group is not ready for regular class-room work, it may often 
be drawn into current events discussions. Their interest in "live 
topics" may lead them into study. 

Classes held before business meetings sometimes get attendance 
which would not be called out to an educational meeting alone. 

Earnestness, drive and imagination cannot fail to create classes. 

How to Maintain the Interest of the Students. 

It is obvious that the holding of a class together will depend largely 
upon the teacher's personality and methods of instruction as well as 
the subject matter. In the class room he must provide the 
students an opportunity to express themselves. Putting up ques- 
tions to the students, and asking them to make reports on certain 
books or articles have helped to hold students. The teacher should 
endeavor as much as possible to become familiar with the students, 
learn something of their individual traits, and take an interest in their 
particular trade and labor problems. He should make use, as much 
as possible, of charts, pictures, and other illustrations, which visualize 
the subject he tries to cover. Pamphlets, outlines of study, and 
mimeographed reading lists should be freely used. Time in class is 
precious. Preparation for the hour or two of meeting cannot be too 
thorough. Material upon which aroused interest can feed should be 
given to the students. 

In assigning readings to students, the teacher should make every 
effort to bring the books with him and give them out to the students 
in the class. Students in workers' schools are often unfamiliar and 
very timid in the ways of getting books from the public libraries. The 
reading habit can be stimulated by having boxes of books available 
at local meetings and even at the office where each union member 
pays his dues. Frequent conferences between the students of dififerent 
classes help greatly to instill enthusiasm in the class. If possible, de- 
bates or "get-togethers" should be arranged. Such social functions 
may also help to maintain the interest of the group. Another sug- 
gestion is to have the students report back to their local unions the 
subject discussed in the class. This would stimulate the attention of 
the students and would spread the idea continuously. 

[67] 



7^ms^s^ms^m^Sfy&^m^ 



Chapter III 

A FEW FOREIGN EXPERIMENTS 

Workers' Education in Britain. 

The spirit of adult education has been stated by PhiHp Snowden: 
"I would rather have better education given to the masses of the 
working classes than the best for a few. *0 God, make no more 
giants; elevate the race.' " 

Adult education is one expression of social ferment and the de- 
sire for a better social order. Its purpose is to lift the rank and file 
and to train leaders. It is emphatically not the purpose to lift the 
workers into the middle class. 

The Need. 

Professor Henry Clay writes us out of long experience in British 
workers' classes : — 

"I do not think adult education is a substitute for secondary edu- 
cation missed in adolescence: it is a different thing. Therefore I 
should say that the University Tutorial Classes have revealed a need, 
and indicated a way of satisfying it, for which no systematic pro- 
vision has been made in the past. Yet it is a need as normal as the 
need of elementary education in childhood and secondary education 
in adolescence : the need of adults for opportunities of systematic 
study of adult problems." 

Rules. 

The British experience has revealed certain principles in policy 
and rules in strategy. 

The desire for adult education must come from the workers. This 
desire can be stimulated by appeals and by successful examples. 

Controversial subjects (in economics, history and literature) must 
be included in the curriculum. "No class can afford to disregard 
either Marshall or Marx," says Albert Mansbridge. 

Classes, not lectures, are the method of instruction. The second 
half of the period is devoted to rapid-fire questions by the students. 
Each student is a teacher, each teacher is a student. 

[68] 



The classes are run by the students, who "approve" of the tutor, 
select subjects, and help to formulate the syllabus. There is equality 
between teachers and taught, with no touch of upper-class philan- 
thropy. 

At all points, the workers must share the control and management 
of adult education. 

The courses favor "a liberal as against a merely bread-and-butter 
education." The courses are non-vocational. The subjects selected 
by the students are economics, history, literature, natural science, 
modern languages, music, drama and art. 

WORKERS' EDUCATIONAL ASSOCIATION 

(Known as the W. E. A.) 

The W. E. A. was the resultant of many movements. These were 
Mechanics Institutes, University Extension, evening schools, adult 
schools, the People's College, the Cooperatives, Christian Socialists, 
the settlements. It was an attempt to bring together scholarship and 
labor. It was founded in 1903 by a group of trade unionists, coopera- 
tors and university men. The membership of the W. E. A. in 1920 
was 277 branches, 2,760 affiliated bodies (trade unions, coops, uni- 
versities), and 20,703 individual members. The individual subscrip- 
tion is usually one shilling a year to a branch, and to a district usually 
half a crown. 

Tutorial Classes. 

The chief expression of the W. E. A. has been tutorial classes. 
These are organized by the W. E. A. and self-administered under 
university Joint Committees, consisting of an equal number of uni- 
versity and working class representatives. The Joint Committee, 
aided by grants from the state, is the controlling authority of the 
tutorial class. The classes are financed partly by the universities, 
party by grants from the Board of Education and local education au- 
thorities. These sources have been supplemented by the Gilchrist 
Trustees and the W. E. A. 

The class chooses the subject of study and approves the tutor sent 
by the Joint Committee. The student pledges himself to attend for 
two hours a week — one hour for the lecture, one hour for discussion — 

[69] 



during twenty-four weeks a year for three years, and to write each 
fortnight an essay. The tutorial classes were started in 1907. In 
eleven years, 8,000 students had entered the classes. In 1919-20 there 
were 229 classes, with 5,320 students. 

Cost. 

The Board of Education gives £45 a class for each of three years. 
The Oxford Committee held that a tutor could undertake five classes, 
and pays i80-£100 a class, or £400-£500 a year for full work. Cam- 
bridge pays £72 a class. London pays £80. There are twenty-three 
universities and colleges interested. The fee paid by a member of a 
tutorial class averages 2 shillings 6 pence for twenty-four meetings. 
The universities were to be responsible for one half the tutor's sal- 
aries and travelling expenses. Oxford has met this. Elsewhere less 
than one half. The universities are putting up £5,000 a year. Local 
authorities give £2,000 a year. 

Of 303 students in the Oxford classes in 1917-18 fifty-three were 
trade union officials, twenty-five "coop" officers, eleven on local gov- 
ernment boards. A class must not contain under Board of Education 
regulations more than thirty students and usually has less. 

An analysis of contribution to tutorial classes for 1908-13 shows: 

From universities £17,440 

Board of Education £12,000 

Local education authorities £ 6,100 

Other sources (Gilchrist Trustees, Cooperative 

unions, Trades Union Congress, W. E. A.) . .£ 2,000 



£37,540 
(at $4.80 to £, this is $180,192) 

The contribution from the Board of Education is now based on 
a block grant of £45 a class. This means nearly £7,000 a year. 

Books. 

So far as their means will allow the students purchase their own 
books. "Generally it is found possible to arrange that one text- 
book of moderate price should be possessed by every student; for 
instance, in many classes all the students had Townsend Warner's 

[70] 



'Industrial History of England.' In every class copies of the prin- 
cipal books necessary are provided. It is usual for the university to 
which the course is attached to send to the centre a box of books. In 
addition to this there are available at some centres those books which 
are in the public library. It is much to be regretted that free libraries 
do not seem, at any rate in many cases, adequately to meet the de- 
mand." 

The W. E. A. has a central library of fair size, equipped to supply 
some of the books required and there is a Central Library for students 
under independent trustees which is prepared to supply any book 
needed by a worker student. 

Attendance. 

The proportion of attendances made to attendances possible is 
usually 75% or over. The average composition of a class is twenty- 
five. Of 5,320 in attendance, about 3,600 are men and 1,700 women, 
There is no certificate, no examination (except the fortnightly essay), 
no formality. Freedom of discussion is fundamental. 

Effect on Teachers and Students. 

How adult workers can benefit a teacher and his teaching is re- 
vealed in R. H. Tawney's "Agrarian Problem of the Sixteenth Cen- 
tury," and Henry Clay's "Economics" — "both of them based on lec- 
tures given in tutorial classes." 

After an investigation, A. L. Smith, now Master of Balliol College, 
wrote : 

"Twenty-five per cent of the essays examined by him after second 
year's work in two classes, and first year's work in six classes, were equal 
to the work done by students who gained first classes in the Final Schools 
of Modern History. He was astonished, not so much at the quality as at 
the quantity of the quality of the work done." 

The group of persons around Arnold Freemen, who made a 
Study of Sheffield, state : 

"The W. E. A. reaches out directly to no workers except those who 
belong to the well-equipped class, and only to the best of these." 

One of the founders of the W. E. A, (Mansbridge) says: 

"Such efforts are not worth undertaking unless they can be main- 
tained for the first year on a pound or two. All movements ought to 
be small and poor at the commencement." 

[71] 



He adds that large and successful meetings at the beginning are 
bad. A small, keen, critical group is best in organizing the work. 

One of the useful results of the W. E. A. has been in developing 
the social consciousness of Oxford, Cambridge, and the modern 
universities. As the result, there is less bitterness in the feeling of 
the workers towards the universities, and less arrogance in the mind 
of scholars towards the labor movement. 

Also, by 1913, it could be said, "In the coming discussion in the 
country on the future of national education, over 5,000 well trained 
working men and women will take their part," 

The tutorial classes of the W. E. A. were the first whole-hearted 
recognition of Adult Education. 

A Class. 

In the famous pamphlet "Education and the Working Class" it is 
recalled that Erasmus came to England to meet his fellow-scholars. 
He^ visited the two great universities of Oxford and Cambridge. If 
he came again today, he would go to the Potteries, to the heart of 
the industrial district, and to the working class. 

"In one of the Five Towns there is a block of school buildings occupy- 
ing a vacant plot by the side of a factory. Four great ovens, like giant 
champagne bottles, overlook the premises, and seem to leer wickedly 
into the playground. When Erasmus visits it at night, one of the rooms 
is still lighted. Some twenty-five men and women are gathered there, 
of various ages and trades, but predominantly of the working class. 
They have come together, he is told, for a university tutorial class in 
philosophy, which meets from 8 to 10. But they have come early; for it 
is not merely a class, but a club and a college; several of them are 
anxious, too, to have a private word with the tutor. The tutor, he learns, 
is an Oxford graduate with a good honours degree in his subject, but, 
if he talks to him, he will find that he has learnt most of his philosophy 
in discussions with working people. For of the two hours of a tutorial 
class, the first only is used for exposition; the second is sacred to dis- 
cussion. So that a class consists, as has been said, not of twenty-five 
students and a tutor, but of twenty-six students who learn together. 
There is also a library in the room of some fifty or sixty volumes bearing 
on the subject; at least, the box is there, but the books are almost all in 
use. But the class, which is a democratic organism, has its own elected 
librarian and secretary, and from them he can learn all that he wishes 
to know. He will find that the books are not only diligently read, but 
form a basis for essays which are a regular part of the class work. He 

[72] 



will discover how various and vexatious are the obstacles that industrial 
life sets in the way of this new type of university student — the ravages 
of overtime, the anxieties of unemployment, the suspicions of foremen 
and managers, the difficulties of obtaining quiet for reading and writing. 
He will hear of one student, nearly blind, who came regularly to class 
and made pathetic attempts to do his paper-work in large letters on a 
sheet of wallpaper; of another who found it quietest to go early to bed 
and rise again after midnight for an hour or two of study; of another 
who, joining a class at sixty-nine, attended regularly for six years until 
the very week of his death. And in the discussion, if he stays for it, he 
will hear the old problems of philosophy first raised in Plato (who is still 
used as a text-book) thrashed out anew from the living experience of 
grown men and women." 

RUSKIN COLLEGE 

In 1899 Ruskin College was established by three Americans — Mr. 
and Mrs. Walter Vrooman and Charles Beard. The Governing 
Body was constituted of university men and trade union leaders. 
The location of Ruskin College is Oxford. Its purpose is the pro- 
vision of education for adult members of the working class in his- 
tory, economics, political science, literature, and other branches of 
the social sciences. It seeks to ofifer "a training in subjects which 
are essential for working class leadership." 

Attendance. 

Six hundred students have passed through the college in one and 
two year courses. There are accommodations for fifty a year. More 
than 10,000 have carried on the correspondence courses. 

Cost. 

The fees charged are £65 a year for a college year of thirty-three 
weeks. The trade unions contribute £750 a year to Ruskin. Ruskin 
College requires an income of £4,000 a year. It has recently appealed 
to the public for an endowment of £76,000. The appeal is signed 
by such well-known members of the community as Arthur Balfour, 
Sir Auckland Geddes, David Lloyd George, Sir Robert Home, and 
Violet Markham. 

Doubts. 

In 1909 certain of the students, led by George Sims, and Frank 
Hodges, "revolted," and established the Central Labor College (now 

[73] 



the Labor College). They believed that Ruskin was imbibing uni- 
versity atmosphere, instead of steering a working class revolutionary 
movement. 

In 1910, Ruskin was reorganized, and the administration was 
placed in the hands of working class representatives, with three 
consultative members. 

The location at Oxford, and the fact that individual subscriptions 
are necessary to its maintenance, have created a "feeling" against 
Ruskin in the mind of the "left" of labor. But thoroughly repre- 
sentative leaders of labor are on the governing council — such persons 
as Margaret Bondfield, Ben Tillett and T. E, Naylor. 

LABOR COLLEGE 

The sub-warden says : 

"The Labor College teaches the workman to look for the causes of 
social evils in the material foundation of society; that these causes are 
economic; that their elimination involves economic changes of such a 
character as to lead to the eradication of capitalist economy." 

The instruction is based largely upon the teachings of Karl Marx. 

Control. 

The college is based upon the recognition of the antagonism of 
interests between capital and labor. The Labor College is owned 
and controlled by the Board of labor organizations, establishing 
scholarships. There are three persons on the Board from the South 
Wales Miners' Federation, and three from the National Union of 
Railwaymen, The college costs £3,200 a year, and the income comes 
from scholarship fees raised by the unions. The cost of a scholarship 
is ;£125 a year. The students are sent, in most cases, for a period of 
two years. 

Attendance. 

The Labor College (which is situated in London) has forty resi- 
dential students. 

One thousand students attend the local lecture courses, which are 
classes held in South Wales, Lancashire, Northumberland, Durham, 
and industrial centres. There are correspondence courses and lec- 

[74] 



tures by post. All told, the Labor College reaches six thousand stu- 
dents a year. 

In 1908, the Plebs League was formed of ex-students and sup- 
porters. It numbers now nearly 800 paid up members, and 30 
branches. 

In 1909, came the revolt from Ruskin. For two years the college 
remained in Oxford. 

In 1911, it moved to London. 

The Plebs League continues ''to further the interests of inde- 
pendent working-class education as a partisan effort to improve the 
position of labor at present, and ultimately to assist in the abolition 
of wage-slavery." 

"I can promise to be candid but not impartial," says 'The Plebs," 
organ of the Plebs League. 

And again it has said : 

"We want neither your crumbs nor your condescension, your 
guidance nor your glamor, your tuition nor your tradition." 

One of the promoters of the Plebs League and of the Labor College 
is J. F. Horrabin, who prepared the maps for H. G. Wells's "The 
Outline of History." 

Two of the famous graduates of the Labor College are Frank 
Hodges, Secretary of the Miners' Federation of Great Britain, and 
Concemore Thomas Cramp, industrial organizer of the National 
Union of Railwaymen. 

Plans are under way to increase residential facilities so that 70 
students can be accommodated. The miners and railwaymen have 
authorized an expenditure of $100,000 (£21,000). 

A compliment from a hostile source to the efficacy of the Labor 
College is that of the "London Times" of October 7, 1919: 

"The influential men (in strikes) are not even Bolshevists. They are 
middle-class intellectuals and workmen who have been through one or 
other of the labor colleges, where they have imbibed theories about the 
social and industrial order which seem to them perfectly true and wise 
because they do not know enough to detect the fallacies. These men 
who are young, are most numerous among the railwaymen and miners, 
and this is the chief reason why these industries are the special, though 
not the only, hot beds of disorder." 

[75] 



BELGIAN WORKERS' EDUCATION 

The Belgian Central Board for Workers' Education was founded 
in 1911. It is one third endowed, and two thirds supported by 
labor contributions. The Board is made up of representatives of 
the Labor Party, the labor unions and the cooperative societies. 
It exists to stimulate local effort. It induces labor organizations to 
use their own money for educational work. Its purpose is, according 
to its own constitution, to develop and coordinate all institutions that 
aim at "providing the workers with such knowledge and qualities as 
will facilitate their emancipation as a class in every field." 

Among the many enterprises of the Board, it is successfully work- 
ing out a labor school system. This applies to the three groups of 
workers (defined in the opening pages of this pamphlet) by elemen- 
tary local schools with cycles of lecture-lessons, district schools, and 
higher national schools. The national schools are specialized into 
trade union, cooperative, sociaHst, political, a school for municipal 
councillors, and so on. 

This Belgian experiment is thus in its beginnings more system- 
atized than the older British experiment. It recognizes more frankly 
the differences in the capacity of the students. On the other hand 
it has not had the long test of the British practice. An admirable 
account of the Belgian experiment was given by Dr. Henry de Man> 
the Belgian labor leader, director of the Belgian Board of Labor 
Education, in the "Survey" for September 1, 1920. His summary is so 
well done and so important that it would be an act of impertinence 
to rewrite or shorten it. The title of his article is "How Belgian 
Labor is Educating Itself." Elsewhere he has stated what labor edu- 
cation means in the following way : 

"When labor strikes, it says to its master: I shall no longer work at 
your command. When it votes for a party of its own it says : I shall no 
longer vote at your command. When it creates its own classes and 
colleges, it says : I shall no longer think at your command. Labor's 
challenge to education is the most fundamental of the three." 



[76] 



WHAT TO READ 

A Bibliography on Workers' Education.* 

LABOR COLLEGES 

Belgium 
Man, Henry de — How Belgian Labor is Educating Itself. (In Survey, N. 
Y., V. 44, p. 667-70, Sept. 1, 1920.) 

Germany 
Best, R. H., and Ogden, C. K. — The Problem of the Continuation School 
and Its Successful Solution in Germany. London, P, S. King & 
Son, 1914. 79 p. 

Great Britain 

Begbie, Harold — Living Water ; Being Chapters from the Romance of the 
Poor Student. London, Headley Bros., 1918. 209 p. 
Novel dealing with the W. E. A. 

Central Labour College. (In Labour Year Book. 1919. p. 294-295.) 

History of movement, origin as a revolt against conservatism of Ruskin 
College. Supported by miners' and railv^ray unions and backed by Plebs 
League. 

Cole, G. D. H. — British Labour Movement ; A Syllabus for Classes and 
Study Circles. London, Labour Research Department. 1920. 30 p. 

Cole, G. D. H. — ^Labour and Education. (In Labour in the Common- 
wealtJi. 1919. p. 147-165.) 

Cole, G. D. H. — Proletarianism. (In Labour in the Commomuealth. 1919. 
p. 166-178.) 

Cole, G. D. H. — Trade Unionism and Education. (In Workers' Educa- 
tional Ass'n, W. E. A. Education Year Book. 1918. p. 370-373.) 

Traces history of the C. L. C. the quarrel with Ruskin College, the 
guardianship of the C. L. C. by South Wales Miners' Federation _ and 
National Union of Railwaymen. The C. L. C. is "aggressively Marxian." 
Outline of educational policy for trade unions. 

Educational Programmes. (In Labour Year Book. 1919. p. 288-298.) 
Summaries of organization and work of the several British labor colleges. 

Feis, Herbert — Economics in the British Workers' Educational Associa- 
tion. (In Quart. Jour, of Economics. Cambridge, v. 34, p. 366-72, 
Feb., 1920.) 

George, Reuben — Unconventional Approaches to Adult Education. Lon- 
don. 1919. 8 p. 

Gillman, F. J. — The Workers and Education ; A Record of Some Present- 
day Experiments. London, George Allen and Unwin. 1916. 66 p. 
Educational work of the settlements. 



* From "Modern Social Movements," by Savel Zimand, published by H. W. 
Wilson Co. 

[77] 



wffm^jifiat^aftgfitm 



wm 



Great Britain, Ministry of Reconstruction. Adult Education Committee — 
Final Report. London, H. M. Stationery Office. 1919. p. 409. 
(Cmd. 321.) 

Contains inclusive account of trade union education in Great Britain and 
the United States, covering most of the colleges established. 

Great Britain, Ministry of Reconstruction. Adult Education Committee — 
Industrial and Social Conditions in Relation to Adult Education. 
London, H. M. Stationery Office. 1918. 32 p. (Cd. 9107.) 
Given in substance in "Labour Conditions and Adult Education." 

Greenwood, Arthur — The Education of the Citizen ; Being a Summary of 
the Proposals of the Adult Education Committee. London, W. E. 
A. 64 p. 

Horrabin, J. F. — Plebs League. (In Workers' Educational Ass'n, W. E. 
A. Year Book. 1918. p. 390-391.) 

Break of the C. L. C. with Ruskin College, and formation of Plebs League 
to back the work of the C. L. C. 

Horwill, H. W. — Education of the Adult Worker. (In Nation, N. Y., v. 
108, p. 738-739. May 10, 1919.) 

Mactavish, J. M. — Education in its Relation to Labour and Industry. 
London, W. E. A. 1919. 15 p. 

Mansbridge, Albert — An Adventure in Working-Class Education ; Being 
the Story of the Workers' Educational Association, 1903-19] 5. 
N. Y., Longmans, Green & Co. 1920. 73 p. 

Mansbridge, Albert — Education and the Working Classes. (In The 
Contemporary Review, June, 1918.) 

Mansbridge, Albert — Universities and Labor; an Educational Adventure 
in England and Her Overseas Dominions. (In Atlantic Monthly, 
Boston, V. 124 p. 275-282. August, 1919.) 

A review of the organizations, the work, and the co-operation of university 
instructors with the workers' organizations. 

Mansbridge, Albert — University Tutorial Classes; A Study in the De- 
velopment of Higher Education Among Working Men and 
Women. N. Y., Longmans, Green & Co. 1918. 197 p. 
The fullest summary on the subject. 

Oxford University Extension Delegacy, Tutorial Classes Committee — Re- 
port for the year. Oxford. 1913 — date. 

Oxford University Extension Delegacy, Tutorial Classes Committee — Re- 
port on the Working of the Summer Classes Held During the Long 
Vacation at Oxford in Balliol College and New^ College. Oxford. 
1911. 61 p. 

Parry, R. St. J., Ed. — Cambridge Essays on Adult Education. Cam- 
bridge [Eng.] University Press. 1920. 230 p. 

Paul, Eden and Cedar — Independent Working Class Education ; Thoughts 
and Suggestions. London, Workers' Socialist Federation. Lon- 
don. 1918. 31 p. 

[78] 



Plebs League — What Is Independent Working-Class Education ? London. 
1920. 16 p. 

Ruskin College — What It Is and What It Stands For. London, Co- 
operative Printing Society Limited. 1918. 24 p. 

Smith, Sam — Ruskin College, Oxford. (In Workers' Educational Ass'n. 

IV. E. A. Education Year Book. 1918. p. 388-389.) 

Foundation, support, and government by trade union and co-operative union 
representatives. Courses, scholarship, publications, etc. 

Tawney, R. H. — An Experiment in Democratic Education. (In Oxford 
[Eng.] Political Quarterly, May, 1914.) 

Workers' Educational Association — Annual Report and Statement of 
Accounts. London, 1903-date. 

Plans, classes, summer schools, libraries, literature and directory of 
branches in Great Britain and the colonies. 

Workers' Educational Association — Education and the Working Class. 
London, 1914. 25 p. 
A statement of objective reprinted from the Round Table of March 1914. 

Workers' Educational Association — The W. E. A. Education Year Book. 
1918. London, Workers' Educational Association, N. Y., Ginn & 
Co. 1918. 507 p. 

Complete account of workingmen's education in Great Britain. Introduc- 
tion by G. B. Shaw, contributions by S. G. Hobson, G. D. H. Cole. H. G. 
Wells, John Galsworthy and others, covering the history and teaching 
method of the W. E. A. 

World Association for Adult Education. London. University Tutorial 
Class Movement. London. 1919. 30 p. (Bui. 2.) 

Great Britain — Periodicals 
The Highwav : A Monthly Journal of Education. Published by the W. 
E. A.' 

TJie Plebs Magazine. Printed by Fox Jones & Co. at Kempt Hall, Ox- 
ford. Continued as "The Plebs." Printed at the Pelican Press, 
London. 

The Ruskin Reviezv. Oxford Chronicle Company, Oxford. 

Great Britain — Directory 
Labour College (Until recently Central Labour College), 13 Penywern 
Road, London, S. W. 5. 

Plebs League. (Graduates and students of Labour College.) Mrs. W. 
Horrabin, 11a Penywern Road, Earl's Court, London, S.W. 5. 

Ruskin College, Oxford, Secretary. Sam Smith, Ruskin College, Oxford, 
England. 

Workers' Educational Association. General Secretary. J. M. Mac- 
tavish, 16 Harpur Street, London, W.C. 1. 

World Association for Adult Education. 13 John St., Adelphi, London, 
W. C. 2. 

[79] 



United States 
American Federation of Labor. Committee on Schools Under Union Aus- 
pices. Report. (In American Federation of Labor. Kept, of 
Proc. of S9th Annual Convention. Washin^on, D. C, 1919. 
p. 135-144.) 

Boston Trade Union College. (In School and Society. Garrison, N. Y. 
V. 9, p. 443-444, Apr. 12, 1919.) 

Budish, J. M. — Educational and Culture Within Reach of Our Workers. 
(In Fur Worker, N. Y. Sept. 1919.) Reprinted in N. Y. Call. 

Budish, J, M., and Soule, George. — Education. (In New Unionism in 
the Clothing Industry, N. Y. Harcourt, Brace and Howe. 1920. 
p. 205-228.) 

Adequate account of the educational work of the unions in the clothing 
industry. 

Carlton, Frank Tracy — Organized Labor in American History. N. Y., 
D. Appleton & Co. 1920. 313 p. 
Free School and the Wage Earner, p. 62-77. 

Part of labor in establishing common school education and attitude of 
A. F. of L. toward education. 

Cohn, F. M. — Educational Work of the International Ladies' Garment 
Workers' Union. (In American Labor Year Book, v. 3, 1919-20. 
p. 204-6.) 

Dana, H. W. L. — Boston Labor College. (In Socialist Review, N. Y., v. 
8, p. 27. Dec, 1919.) 

Dana, H. W. L. — New Labor College. (In Young Democracy, N. Y., v. 
1, No. 11, p. 4. Oct., 1919.) 

Education for Workers. (In Survey, N. Y. v. 43, p. 437. Jan. 17, 1920.) 
Brief review of work of Trade Union College of Boston, of Chicago, and 
International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union Educational Committee. 

Fichandler, Alexander — Labor Education. (In Survey, N. Y., v. 45. p. 
542-3. Jan. 8, 1921.) 

Fichandler, Alexander. — Workers' Education; Why and What? (In 
Socialist Review, N. Y., v. 10, p. 49-50. Apr.-May, 1921.) 

Fox, G. M.— When Labor Goes to School. N. Y., Nat'l Board Y. W. C. 

A., 1920. 30 p. 
Gleason, Arthur— W. E. B. (In Survey, N. Y., v. 46, p. 42. Apr. 9, 1921.) 

Gleason, Arthur — Workers' Education. (In New Republic, N. Y., v. 26, 

p. 235-7. Apr. 20, 1921.) 
Labor in Quest of Beauty. (In Survey, N. Y., v. 42, p. 199. May 3, 1919.) 

Man, Henry de.— Labor's Challenge to Education. (In New Republic, 

N. Y., V. 26, p. 16-18. March 2, 1921.) 
Maurer, J. H. — Labor Education. (In Pennsylvania Federation of Labor. 

Proc. of the annual convention. 19th. p. 53-5, 1920.) 

Also report on workers' educational classes in Pennsylvania during 1920- 

1921. Submitted to the 20th annual convention, 1921. 

[8o] 



Mine Labor Moves Forward. (In Nezv Republic, N. Y., v. 26, p. 58-60. 
March 16, 1921.) 

Sterling, Henry. — Labor's Attitude Toward Education. (In School and 
Society. Garrison, N. Y., v. 10, p. 128-32. Aug. 2, 1919.) 

Stoddard, W. L. — Boston Trade Union College. (In Nation, N. Y., 
V. 109, p. 298-300. Aug. 30, 1919.) 

Stoddard, W. L. — Labor Goes to College. (In Independent, N. Y., v. 98, 
p. 216. May 10, 1919.) 

Sweeney, Charles Patrick — Adult Working-Class Education in Great 
Britain and the United States. Wash., Govt. Print. Off., 1920. 
101 p. (U. S. Labor Statistics Bureau, Bui. No. 271.) 

Trade Union College. (In American Review of Reviews, N. Y., v. 60, 
p. 441-442. Oct. 1919.) 

Boston. 

Trade Union College. (In New Republic, N. Y., v. 18, p. 395. Apr. 26, 
1919.J 

Trade Union College. (In Survey, N. Y., v. 42, p. 113-114. Apr. 19, 
1919.) 
Boston. 

Workers' Education : A Symposium. Reprinted from the Ship Builders' 
Nezvs and Navy Yard Employee, for Sept., 1919, by the Indus- 
trial Committee of the Department of Research and Method of the 
National Board of the Y. W. C. A. 1920. 15 p. 
Contents : Dana, H. W. L. Boston Trade Union College. 

Beard. C. A. New School for Social Research. 

Budish, J. M. United Labor Education Committee. 

Poyntz, J. S. Workers' University. 

Tannenbaum, Frank. Labor and Education. 

Cady, M. L. Workers' Education and the Young Women's 
Christian Association. 

United States — Directory 

Workers' Education Bureau of America. 465 West 23rd Street. New 
York City. Spencer Miller, Jr., Sec'y. 

District of Columbia — Washington 

Trade Union College of Washington, D. C, 1423 New York Ave., Wash- 
ington, D. C. Mary C. Dent, Sec'y. 

Illinois — Chicago 

Chicago Federation of Labor, Educational Council, 166 W. Washington 
Street, Chicago, 111. 

National Women's Trade Union League. Training- School for Women 
Labor Leaders, 311 South Ashland Boulevard, Chicago, 111. Alice 
Henry, Educational Director. 

[Si] 



Maryland — Baltimore 
Dr. Broadus Mitchell, Department of Political Economy, Johns Hop- 
kins University, Baltimore, Maryland. 

Massachusetts — Amherst 
Amherst College, Classes for Workers, Amherst, Mass. F. Stacy May, 
Sec'y. 

Boston 
Trade Union College of Boston, 634 Little Building, Boston, Mass. 
Mabel Gillespie, Sec'y. 

Michigan — Detroit 
Workers' Educational Association, 2101 Gratiot Ave. Thomas Smock, 
Sec'y. 

Minnesota — Duluth 
Work Peoples' College, Box 166, Riverside Station, Duluth, Minn. George 
Humon, Principal. 

Minneapolis 
Workers' College of Minneapolis, 225 South Fifth Street, Minneapolis, 
Minn. Edward Maurer, Registrar. 

St. Paul 
St. Paul Labor College, 75 West 7th Street, St. Paul, Minn. S. S. Tingle, 
Sec'y. 

New York State- — Katonah 
Brookwood School, Katonah, N. Y. William M. Fincke, Educational 
Director. 

New York City 

Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, National Education De- 
partment, 31 Union Square, New York City. J. B. Salutsky, 
Director. 

Cooperative League of America, Classes in Cooperation, 2 West 13th 
Street, New York City. A. D. Warbasse, Educational Sec'y. 

International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, Educational Department, 
31 Union Square, New York City. Fannia M. Cohn, Sec'y; Alex- 
ander Fichandler, Educational Director. 

International Ladies' Garment Workers, Local 25. 16 West 21st Street, 
New York City. Elsie Gliick, Educational Director. 

International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union. Union Health Center, 
131 East 17th Street, New York City. Harry Wander, Chairman. 

Rand School of Social Science, 7 East 15th Street, New York City. 
Algernon Lee, Director ; Bertha Mailly, Sec'y. 

Trade Union College of Greater New York, 208 West 14th Street, New 
York City. Mrs. A. Riley Hale, Sec'y. 

[82] 



United Labor Education Committee, 41 Union Square, New York City. 
J. M. Budish, Chairman. 

Rochester 

Rochester Labor College, 476 Clinton Ave., N. Paul Blanshard, Educa- 
tional Director. 

O hio — Clei'eland 

International Ladies' Garment Workers' Union, Workers' University, 
1024 Walnut Street, Cleveland, Ohio. 

Pennsylvania 

Pennsylvania Labor Education Committee, c/o Pennsylvania State Fed- 
eration of Labor, Commonwealth Trust Bldg., Harrisburg, Pa. 

Allentown 
Allentown Labor School, 205 Carlisle Street. Clarence Moser, Sec'y. 

Bethlehem 
Bethlehem Labor School, 643 E. North Street. J. W. Hendricks, Sec'y. 

Bryn Mazvr 
Bryn Mawr College, Summer School for Women Workers in Industry. 
Miss Ernestine Friedmann, Sec'y. 

Harrishurg. 
Harrisburg Labor School, 1604 Derry Street. J. R. Copenhaver, Sec'y. 

Lancaster 
Lancaster Labor Class, 150 East Lemon Street. Samuel Hoover, Sec'y. 

Pen Argyl 
Pen Argyl Labor Class. Samuel Davey, Sec'y. 

Philadelphia 
Trade Union College of Philadelphia, 1702 Arch Street. Frieda S. 
Miller, Sec'y. 

Pittsburgh 
Trade Union College of Pittsburgh, 1718 Lowrie Street, N. S. Sarah 
Z. Limbach, Sec'y. 

Pottsville 
Pottsville Labor School, 110 North Center Street. Wm. H. Dietrich, 
Sec'y. 

Reading 
Reading Labor School, 139 Greenwich Street. George W. Snyder, Sec'y 

Washington — Seattle 
Workers College of Seattle, Labor Temple. W. J. Henry, Sec'y. 

[83] 



IJ■«B6*SP^a.^'*»!6»/i'"Wl«SS*,•Ai».'*-.^(*■!• 



READING LIST IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES 

(These books have been found useful in labor classes) 

Andrews, J. B. — Labor Problems and Labor Legislation. 

Beard, C. A. — Industrial Revolution. 

Beard, Mary — ^A Short History of the American Labor Movement, 

Blanshard, Paul — 27 Questions and Answers on the Open Shop Move- 
ment. N. Y. Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America. 192L 
24 p. (Amalgamated Educational Pamphlets, No. 4.) 

Bogart, E. L. — Economic History of the United States. 

Clay, Henry — Economics for the General Reader. 

Cole, G. D. H. — British Labor Movement: A Syllabus for Classes and 
Study Circles. London. Labor Research Dept. 1920. 30 p. 
(Syllabus Series No. L) 

Cole, G. D. H.— World of Labor. _ 

Cole, G. D. H. — Self-Government in Industry. 

Cole, G. D. H. — ^Chaos and Order in Industry. 

Coman, Katherine — Industrial History of the United States. 

Commons, J. R. and Andrews — Principles of Labor Legislation. 

Craik, W. W. — Short History of the British Working-Class Movement. 

Goodrich, Carter — Frontier of Control. 

Groat, G. G. — Attitude of American Courts in Labor Cases. 

Groat, G. G. — Organized Labor in American History. 

Henry, Alice — Trade Union Woman. 

Hoxie, R. F. — Trade Unionism in the United States. 

Interchurch World Movement. Commission of Inquiry — Report on the 
Steel Strike of 1919. 

Kirkup, Thomas and Pease, E. R. — A Primer of Socialism. 

Laidler, Harry — Socialism in Thought and Action. 

Laidler, Harry— Boycotts and the Labor Struggle. 

Lauck, W. J. and Sydenstricker — Conditions of Labor in American In- 
dustries. 

Lilienthal, M. S. — From Factory to Fireside. 

Lloyd, C. M.— Trade Unionism. 

Lloyd, C. M.— The British Labor Movement. 

[84] 



Martin, E. D. — Behavior of Crowds. 

Russell, Bertrand — Proposed Roads to Freedom. 

Soule, George — Recent Developments in Trade Unionism. N. Y. Amal- 
gamated Clothing Workers of America. 1921. 32 p. (Amalga- 
mated Educational Pamphlets No. 3.) 

Tawney, R. H. — The Acquisitive Society. 

Webb, Sidney and Beatrice — History of Trade Unionism. 

Webb, Sidney and Beatrice. — Industrial Democracy. 

Wells, H. G.— Outline of History. 

Wolman, Leo — Boycott in American Trade Unions. 

Woolf, Leonard — Co-operation and the Future of Industry. 



[85] 



INTERNATIONAL LADIES' GARMENT WORKERS' UNION 
EDUCATIONAL DEPARTMENT 

Outline of Lectures by Dr. Harry Laidler 

Injunctions in Labor Disputes 

The place of injunctions as a remedy in law — Conditions under which 
injunctions are ordinarily issued — Questions of irreparable injury — No 
remedy at law — The use of injunctions in labor disputes — Beginnings in 
the United States — Railroad cases of the nineties. 

Conditions under which injunctions are issued during strikes — Evolu- 
tion of law of conspiracy in relation to strikes — Strike for improved con- 
ditions of employment — Strike for closed shop — Sympathetic strikes — 
Decision in New York State — Decision of Judge Alton B. Parker in 
National Protective Associationvs. Cummings — Decisions in recent cloth- 
ing strikes — Duplex Printing Company vs. Deering. 

Injunctions in cases of picketing — Element of coercion — Violence, etc. 
— Picketing during illegal strikes — Status in New York State. 

Injunctions in boycott cases — History of boycotts — Classification of 
boycotts — American Railway case — Buck Stove and Range — Duplex 
Printing Company — Present legal status of boycotts in the United States 
— Reasons, legal and economic for legalization of boycotts. 

Boycotts 

Origin of the word boycott — Definition of boycotts in labor disputes — 
Classification of boycotts — primary — secondary — compound. 

History of boycotts in the United States — Boycotting during the 
eighties by the Knights of Labor — Railroad boycotts of the nineties in the 
American Railway Union and other strikes — The boycotts of the Ameri- 
can Federation of Labor — The Danbury Hatters, Buck Stove and Range 
and other cases — Recent boycott cases. 

Methods of enforcing boycotts — Elements of success in boycotting — 
Character of the commodity boycotted — Character of the firm boycotted — 
Character of the boycotting union. 

The legal status of the boycott — Legal reasons for legality and illegality 
of boycotting. 

Economic reasons for and against making boycotts legal — Result of 
legality of boycotting — Substitutes for boycotts. 



[86] 



THE BUREAU OF INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH 
announces the publication of : 

WORKERS' EDUCATION. 

A study of American and foreign experiments in education under 
working-class direction and control. Particular attention is given 
to the extent, methods and results of the most recent American 
developments. By Arthur Gleason. 1921. 50c.* 

THE OPEN SHOP DRIVE. 

A fact statement as to the extent of the recent open shop propa- 
ganda, its proponents and methods, together with a large number 
of supporting documents. By Savel Zimand. 1921. 50c.* 

MODERN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS, a Descriptive Bibliography. 

A brief account is given of the present status of the important 
economic movements in all the large countries of the world, and a 
critical and selected list of readings follows the statement of each 
movement. By Savel Zimand. With introduction by Charles A. 
Beard. H. W. Wilson Co., N. Y. 1921. $1.80. 

PERSONNEL ADMINISTRATION; ITS PRINCIPLES AND 
PRACTICE. 

A systematic presentation of the methods of conducting personnel 
departments in industry, including the work of selection, training, 
industrial health, service work, joint relations, research and com- 
munity relations. By Ordway Tead and Henry C. Metcalf. 
McGraw-Hill Book Co., N. Y. 1920. $5.00. 

AMERICAN COMPANY SHOP COMMITTEE PLANS. 

A simple and conveniently arranged guide to the typical plans for 
employee representation. The structure and procedure of twenty 
extant shop committee plans is clearly set forth. 1919. $1.00. 

Also 

THE INTERCHURCH WORLD MOVEMENT REPORT ON THE 
STEEL STRIKE OF 1919. 

Prepared with the technical assistance of the Bureau of Industrial 
Research for the Commission of Inquiry of the Interchurch World 
Movement Harcourt, Brace and Co., N. Y. 1920. Paper, 1.50; 
cloth, $2.50. 

PUBLIC OPINION AND THE STEEL STRIKE. 

Supplementary reports of the Steel Strike Commission of Inquiry 
of the Interchurch World Movement, prepared with the technical 
assistance of the Bureau of Industrial Research. (In press.) 
Harcourt, Brace and Co., N. Y. 1921. Paper, $1.50; cloth, $2.50. 



*Half price on all orders from students and trade-union members. 

[87] 



THE BUREAU OF INDUSTRIAL RESEARCH, 289 
Fourth Ave., New York, is organized to promote sound 
human relationships in industry by consultation, fact studies 
and publicity. 

It maintains a library of current information covering the 
field of industrial relations from which it is prepared to 
supply documentary and statistical data at moderate cost to 
individuals, corporations, labor organizations and the press. 



Robert W. Bruere^ Director 
He-ber Blankenhorn Leonard Outhwaite 

Mary D. Blankenhorn Ordway Tead 
Arthur Gleason Savel Zimand 

Herbert Croly, Treasurer 



>f^wa*»f-"ii(i*(w»5W!,asfiv^5sw tKairat.* 



.■iitfiM!^-i't;.-^^^'<-:- 



